SpaceX Dragon returns, officially completing a second ISS resupply trip

Ars Technica » Scientific Method 2013-03-26

"SPLASHDOWN!" "Special delivery!" However SpaceX wants to frame it, the company's Dragon capsule has successfully returned to Earth.

The latest SpaceX mission to the International Space Station officially ended at 9:34am PST as the capsule landed in the Pacific Ocean. Dragon was tasked with its second resupply trip to the ISS, bringing about 1,200 pounds of equipment with it when it launched on March 1. There were a few hiccups along the way—notably trouble initializing thrusters when trying to move out of its original orbit and toward the ISS—but Dragon did ultimately return with about 2,670 pounds of recovered cargo. (As NPR notes, it's a combination of supplies, equipment, scientific instruments, and "a set of LEGO toys that have been on the station for the last two years.")

Dragon will first travel to Los Angeles and then to Texas for unloading, according to the Associated Press. This trip was the second of 12 ISS missions SpaceX has agreed to with NASA. SpaceX made photos of Dragon's journey available, and NASA has a more detailed recap of what items the capsule delivered on the mission (the organization also made sure to note the landing serendipitously occured on Leonard Nimoy's birthday).

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