Photos: SpaceX Dragon capsule returns to Earth
March 26, 2013
This NASA image form video shows the SpaceX capsule Dragon about to be captured by the Canada Arm at the the International Space Staion(ISS) on March 3, 2013. The privately-owned unmanned US space capsule owned by SpaceX arrived at the International Space Station on Sunday, bringing to the space outpost food, scientific materials and other crucial equipment. The capsule named Dragon was captured -- with the help of a robotic arm - by NASA Expedition 34 Commander Kevin Ford and Flight Engineer Tom Marshburn, 5:31 am EST (1031 GMT), when the ISS was over northern Ukraine, US space officials said. AFP PHOTO/HANDOUT/ NASA / Chris Hadfield ( 517895803 )
This image provided by NASA-TV shows the SpaceX Dragon commercial cargo craft as it is backed away from the International Space Station early Tuesday March 26, 2013 by the International Space Station's Canadarm2 robotic arm. The Dragon is expected to splash down in the eastern Pacific ocean approximately 246 miles off the coast of Baja Calif., later this morning. (AP Photo/NASA) ( Space Station )
The SpaceX Dragon lands into the Pacific Ocean March 26, 2013. The Space Exploration Technologies' Dragon cargo capsule splashed down in the Pacific Ocean on Tuesday, bringing back science experiments and gear from the International Space Station. The spacecraft left the orbital outpost at 6:56 a.m. ET, and parachuted into the ocean about 225 miles west of Mexico's Baja California. REUTERS/SpaceX/Handout ( US-SPACE-STATION )
The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the Dragon capsule, lifts off from the Cape Canveral Air Force Station on a second resupply mission to the International Space Station in Cape Canaveral, Florida March 1, 2013. REUTERS/Scott Audette
The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the Dragon capsule, lifts off from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on a second resupply mission to the International Space Station in Cape Canaveral, Florida March 1, 2013. REUTERS/Scott Audette
People photograph the Falcon 9 SpaceX rocket as it lifts off from launch complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Fla. on Friday, March 1, 2013. The rocket is transporting the Dragon capsule to the International Space Station containing more than a ton of food, tools, computer hardware and science experiments. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
This NASA image on Twitter by ISS Flight Engineer Chris Hadfield, the SpaceX Dragon cargo vehicle soars over sub-Saharan Africa during the approach to the International Space Station on March 3, 2013. The privately-owned unmanned US space capsule owned by SpaceX arrived at the International Space Station on March 3, bringing to the space outpost food, scientific materials and other crucial equipment. The capsule named Dragon was captured -- with the help of a robotic arm - by NASA Expedition 34 Commander Kevin Ford and Flight Engineer Tom Marshburn, 5:31 am EST (1031 GMT), when the ISS was over northern Ukraine, US space officials said. AFP PHOTO/HANDOUT/ NASA / Chris Hadfield ( 517874328 )
NASA spokesman Mike Curie, NASA International Space Station Program Manager Mike Suffredini, SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell and weather officer Joel Tumbiolo (L-R) take part in a pre-launch news conference for the SpaceX Falcon 9 and Dragon capsule at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida February 28, 2013. The rocket is scheduled for launch on a second resupply mission to the International Space Station on March 1. The image on right depicts a previous mission with the Dragon capsule docked at the space station. REUTERS/Scott Audette
The Space Exploration Technologies, or SpaceX, Dragon spacecraft stands inside a processing hangar at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida in this undated picture. NASA and its international partners are targeting Friday, March 1, 2013 as the launch date for the next cargo resupply flight to the International Space Station by SpaceX. SpaceX's Dragon capsule will be filled with about 1,200 pounds of supplies for the space station crew and experiments being conducted aboard the orbiting laboratory. REUTERS/Kim Shiflett/NASA/Handout
SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell (R) speaks as NASA'S International Space Station Program Manager Mike Suffredini looks on during a news conference at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida February 28, 2013. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the Dragon capsule, is scheduled for launch on a second resupply mission to the International Space Station on March 1. REUTERS/Scott Audette
In this handout provided by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Dragon spacecraft onboard, sits on the launchpad at Launch Complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on March 1, 2013 in Florida . Launch of the second SpaceX Commercial Resupply Services mission is scheduled for later this morning. (Photo by Bill Ingalls/NASA via Getty Images)
In this handout provided by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Dragon spacecraft onboard, sits on the launchpad at Launch Complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on March 1, 2013 in Florida . Launch of the second SpaceX Commercial Resupply Services mission is scheduled for later this morning. (Photo by Bill Ingalls/NASA via Getty Images)
People pose near the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the Dragon capsule resting near the launching pad as it was prepared for launch at the Cape Canveral Air Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Florida February 28, 2013. The rocket is scheduled for launch on a second resupply mission to the International Space Station on March 1. REUTERS/Scott Audette
The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the Dragon capsule, lifts off from the Cape Canveral Air Force Station on a second resupply mission to the International Space Station in Cape Canaveral, Florida March 1, 2013. REUTERS/Scott Audette
The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the Dragon capsule, lifts off from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on a second resupply mission to the International Space Station in Cape Canaveral, Florida March 1, 2013. REUTERS/Scott Audette
The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the Dragon capsule, lifts off from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on a second resupply mission to the International Space Station in Cape Canaveral, Florida March 1, 2013. REUTERS/Scott Audette
SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell smiles after a news conference at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida February 28, 2013. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, with the Dragon capsule, is scheduled for launch on a second resupply mission to the International Space Station on March 1. REUTERS/Scott Audette
NASA International Space Station Program Manager Mike Suffredini (L) speaks as SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell looks on at a news conference at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida February 28, 2013. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the Dragon capsule is scheduled for launch on a second resupply mission to the International Space Station on March 1. REUTERS/Scott Audette
This Thursday, May 24, 2012 image made from video provided by NASA-TV shows the International Space Station taken from the thermal imaging camera aboard the SpaceX Dragon commercial cargo craft as it approaches the station. NASA says the International Space Station has lost contact with NASA controllers in Houston Tuesday morning, Feb. 19, 2013. Officials say the six crew members and station are fine and they expect to fix the problem soon. NASA said something went wrong during a computer software update on the station. (AP Photo/NASA)
This undated computer generated illustration provided by SpaceX shows a Dragon Crew spacecraft in Earth orbit showing solar panels in the process of deploying. NASA has picked three aerospace companies to build small rocketships to take astronauts to the International Space Station. This is the third phase of NASA's efforts to get private space companies to take over the job of the now-retired space shuttle. The space agency is giving them more than $1.1 billion. Two of three ships are capsules like in the Apollo era and the third is a lifting body that is closer in design to the space shuttle. (AP Photo/SpaceX)
The Falcon 9 SpaceX rocket is shown in a time exposure as it lifts off from space launch complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Fla. on Sunday, Oct. 7, 2012. The rocket is carrying supplies to the International Space Station. (AP Photo/Terry Renna)
In this frame grab from a NASA video, the robotic arm of the International Space Station holds the SpaceX Dragon capsule on May 25, 2012 as astronauts prepare to dock the capsule with the station. SpaceX has become the first private company to rendezvous with the orbiting lab. AFP PHOTO / NASA
International Space Station flight engineer Don Pettit inspects the seal around the hatch of the new SpaceX Dragon commercial cargo craft after the opening of the new module in this image from NASA TV May 26, 2012. REUTERS/NASA TV
The SpaceX Falcon 9 test rocket lifts off from Space Launch Complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Florida, May 22, 2012. The unmanned rocket owned by privately held Space Exploration Technologies blasted off from Cape Canaveral on Tuesday for a mission designed to be the first commercial flight to the International Space Station. The 178-foot (54-meter) tall Falcon 9 rocket lifted off at 3:44 a.m. (0744 GMT) from a refurbished launch pad just south of where NASA launched its now-retired space shuttles. REUTERS/Pierre DuCharme
This image provided by NASA-TV shows the SpaceX Dragon commercial cargo craft, top, after Dragon was grappled by the Canadarm2 robotic arm and connected to the International Space Station, Friday, May 25, 2012. Dragon is scheduled to spend about a week docked with the station before returning to Earth on May 31 for retrieval. (AP Photo/NASA)
In this photo provided by SpaceX, the Dragon spacecraft floats on the surface of the Pacific Ocean about 500 miles off Mexico's Baja California on Thursday, May 31, 2012 after its mission to the International Space Station. (AP Photo/SpaceX, Michael Altenhofen)
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