Splashdown! SpaceX Dragon capsule arrives back on Earth after historic visit to the ISS



The Dragon cargo module, owned by US company SpaceX, made a splash-landing in the Pacific Ocean today after its first visit to the International Space Station.

As the capsule splashed into the sea at 11:42am (16:32BST), NASA said 'Dragon is in the water' - which recalled the moment the capsule was captured by the ISS and the crew said 'We've got a dragon by the tail'.

Dragon landed about 560 miles off the coast of California, with ships immediately heading to the spot to retrieve it.

As the ship landed, NASA sent a Tweet out: 'Splashdown! SpaceX Dragon capsule safely down in Pacific Ocean - ending first mission by a commercial company to resupply the ISS.'

Splashdown! The SpaceX Dragon cargo capsule is seen floating in the Pacific Ocean Thursday after its successful mission to the International Space Station





Let there be light: With rays of sunshine and the thin blue atmosphere of Earth serving as a backdrop, the SpaceX Dragon commercial cargo craft is berthed to the International Space Station

The module was carry supplies for the crew - everything from laboratory equipment to underwear.

After the Space Shuttle missions were scrapped, NASA is now relying on either Russian shuttles or commercial companies to offer them a 'lift' into space.

As the shuttle detached from the ISS this morning, stunning pictures of the DragonX's views were beamed down to Earth.

These images show the dazzling sunrise seen from the module for the last time this morning as it was poised to wrap up a pioneering test flight and head back to Earth.

Dragon became the first privately-owned vehicle to reach International Space Station when it went into space last Friday.



Historic: NASA astronaut Don Pettit's picture shows the SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft near the ISS

The vessel docked with the $100 billion research complex, a project of 15 countries, when astronauts used the station's robot arm to pluck it from orbit and latch it onto a berthing port as the spacecraft sailed about 250 miles above the planet.

The bell-shaped capsule, which was partly financed by NASA, was scheduled to be detached from the station at 4.05 am Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) on Thursday and released from the station's crane about 90 minutes later.



Space Exploration Technologies, or SpaceX, successfully recovered a Dragon capsule from orbit during a previous test flight in December 2010.

SpaceX mission director John Couluris told reporters yesterday: 'We've done it once but it's still a very challenging phase of flight.'

The United States has been without its own transportation to the station since the space shuttles were retired last year. Rather than build and operate a government-owned replacement, NASA is investing in companies such as SpaceX with the intention of buying rides for its cargo - and eventually astronauts - on commercial vehicles, a far cheaper alternative.

Couluris said: 'The ability to get to (the) space station on our first time, to not only rendezvous but then to berth, transfer cargo and depart safely are major mission objectives. We would call that mission alone a success.'

The successful trial run is expected to clear SpaceX to begin working off its 12-flight, $1.6 billion NASA contract to fly cargo to the station.

A second commercial freighter, built by Orbital Sciences Corp is expected to debut this year.

'Our plans are to carry out a test launch in the August-September time frame and the demonstration mission - same as what SpaceX impressively just did - in the November-December time frame,' Orbital spokesman Barry Beneski said in a statement.



Pioneers: The SpaceX Dragon is berthed to the Earth-facing side of the International Space Station's Harmony node, the first commercially developed space vehicle to be launched to the station

Orbital has a similar contract to deliver space station cargo, valued at $1.9 billion.

After leaving the space station, SpaceX's Dragon capsule is expected to fire its steering jets to leave orbit and begin its plunge through the atmosphere.

Recovery ships owned by American Marine Corp of Los Angeles, will be standing by to pick up the capsule and bring it back to the Port of Los Angeles, a trip that should take two or three days.

From there, Dragon will be taken to a SpaceX processing facility in McGregor, Texas, and unloaded and inspected.

Reaction: André Kuipers, a Dutch physician and astronaut with the European Space Agency who docked the capsule, said it reminded him of a science-fiction movie set

The company's last test will be to see if it can speedily return some equipment coming back from the station to NASA within 48 hours, a practice run for ferrying home precious science samples when Dragon begins regular cargo hauls.

The rest of the 1,300 lbs of gear returning on Dragon is due to be sent to NASA within two weeks, said flight director Holly Ridings.

'Because this is a test flight, specifically the program made sure that there's not anything coming home that we couldn't afford to not get back,' she said.

'I know it's a really important capability to prove for NASA and for the space station program as we go forward, since this vehicle has the unique capability to return cargo,' Ridings said.

The only vehicles currently flying to the station that return to Earth are Russian Soyuz spacecraft, which primarily are used to transport crew and have little room for cargo. The other freighters are discarded and burn up in the atmosphere.

Pioneering: The California-based SpaceX is the first private company to send a vessel to the space station

Video: SpaceX Dragon capsule headed back to earth