"SpaceX Dragon returns to Earth from space station" Associated Press May 19, 2014
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — The commercial cargo ship Dragon returned to Earth from the International Space Station on Sunday, bringing back nearly 2 tons of science experiments and old equipment for NASA.
SpaceX’s Dragon splashed into the Pacific just five hours after leaving the orbiting lab.
‘‘Welcome home, Dragon!’’ the California-based company said via Twitter.
After a one-month visit, the SpaceX cargo ship was set loose Sunday morning.
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The SpaceX Dragon is the only supply ship capable of returning items to Earth. The others burn up on reentry....
NASA is paying SpaceX and Virginia-based Orbital Sciences Corp. to make station deliveries. Orbital is next up, next month. Russia, Europe, and Japan also make occasional shipments. SpaceX also is competing for the right to ferry station astronauts, perhaps as early as 2017.
The Dragon rocketed to the space station on April 18 with a full load and arrived at the orbiting lab two days later.
After Sunday’s splashdown, a ship is to carry the Dragon to a port near Los Angeles. Critical science samples will be hustled off at the port for quick return to NASA.
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