CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida. The SpaceX Dragon capsule returned to Earth on Tuesday with a full science load from the International Space St...
The SpaceX Dragon capsule returned to Earth on Tuesday with a full science load from the International Space Station.
The capsule successfully splashed down at Pacific ocean, off the coast of Mexico's Baja Peninsula, Tuesday after spending more than three weeks in ISS.
The capsule brought back more than 1 ton of science experiments and old station equipment. It's the only supply ship capable of two-way delivery.
The unmanned capsule will be shipped to Los Angeles - arriving Wednesday night - and then trucked to Texas for unloading.
This was the second commercial flight of Dragon, and the third delivery mission to ISS.
The resupply-and-cargo-return mission was under a $1.6-billion contract with NASA. The other official mission was in October; a demonstration mission took place in May.
After the capsule reentered Earth's atmosphere, its three main parachutes billowed open about five minutes before splashdown. The orange-and-white-striped parachutes, each 116 feet in diameter, slowed the craft's descent to 16 to 18 feet per second.
SpaceX’s Dragon capsule was launched on March 1 abroad a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral , Florida. The capsule was packed with more than 1,200 pounds of food, scientific experiments and other cargo for delivery to the six crew members aboard the space station.
