A SpaceX Dragon space capsule splashed down in the Pacific Ocean on May 21 after a successful resupply mission to the International Space Station. On board the craft when it returned to Earth were several experiments conducted aboard the orbiting outpost.
The Dragon cargo craft lifted off from Earth on April 14, atop a Falcon 9 rocket, and spent five weeks at the space station. The vehicle was packed with 4,300 pounds of food, supplies, and experiments for space travelers aboard the orbiting outpost. Before the cargo ship departed from the ISS, space station occupants packed the vehicle with 3,100 pounds of completed experiments and equipment.
The Dragon separated from the space station at 7:04 a.m. EDT on May 21, and deployed a trio of parachutes before splashing down in the Pacific Ocean 155 miles southwest of Long Beach, Calif., at 12:42 p.m. EDT.
Among the cargo returning to Earth aboard this flight were roundworms that were used in an experiment to test aging and the physiological effects that accompany the process. Space travelers lose muscle mass during long flights, and the worms are being examined to see how their bodies change during time spent in space.
The spacecraft will be housed at a port in Los Angeles, and the scientific payload carried aboard the Dragon will be sent to researchers at NASA within two days.
"At 9:42am PT, Dragon's splashdown into the Pacific Ocean is confirmed. Dragon returned to Earth with more than 3,000 pounds of cargo and science samples," SpaceX officials reported.
Sam Cristoforetti, an Italian astronaut aboard the ISS, captured an image of the Pacific Ocean just as the Dragon capsule was making its splashdown.
Look carefully.. you'll see #Dragon resting on the horizon. We just got word of the successful splashdown. Congrats! pic.twitter.com/NZ2VFmiHGu
— Sam Cristoforetti (@AstroSamantha) May 21, 2015
SpaceX is one of two companies contracted by NASA, after the end of the space shuttle program in 2011, to fly cargo to the International Space Station. The national space agency agreed to a 12-flight contract with the private space company, worth $1.6 billion. The private space developer, owned by entrepreneur and inventor Elon Musk, has now completed half of that obligation. The next re-supply mission from SpaceX is scheduled for liftoff from Cape Canaveral on June 26.
"NASA last year added three more flights to SpaceX's agreement, for an undisclosed amount ... NASA's second supply line to the station is temporarily grounded, following a launch accident in October. The contractor, Orbital ATK, is revamping its Antares rocket and hopes to be flying again in March," Irene Klotz wrote for Reuters news service.
