WASHINGTON – A SpaceX reusable cargo ship safely landed in the Pacific Ocean on Sunday, ending a mission to supply astronauts on the International Space Station, the company said.
According to Dunya news, the Dragon capsule — the only such vessel capable of returning research samples and other material to Earth — remained docked with the ISS for nearly a month after delivering more than two tonnes of food, water and scientific equipment for NASA on February 23.
The space crew loaded the cargo ship with old equipment, waste and almost 4,000 pounds of research samples from experiments carried out in the station’s condition of microgravity.
Released by the ISS’s robot arm at 0900 GMT, the capsule undertook a more than six-hour journey back to Earth, landing off the coast of Mexico just before 1600 GMT, its final descent slowed by three giant parachutes.
