Nasa says space capsule lands in Pacific Ocean

The first private spacecraft to be launched into orbit and back has landed in the Pacific Ocean on Wednesday after circling the globe twice, according to Nasa.

Reuters/Scott Audette

"The SpaceX Dragon Spacecraft has successfully splashed down in the ocean. Mission success!" said Nasa in a tweet on the public networking site twitter.

SpaceX, a US company which owns the spacecraft, also confirmed that the vehicle had made a "soft landing" less than four hours after the capsule was launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida.

It was propelled into space aboard the Falcon 9 rocket.

This mission could pave the way for future commercial flights after Nasa retires its shuttle fleet in 2011.