
SpaceX’s robotic Dragon capsule brought tons of cargo back down to Earth from the International Space Station today, in a trip that ended with a Pacific Ocean splashdown.
The trip began early today when astronauts used the station’s robotic arm to pull the Dragon away from its port and position it for the automated descent.
Over the past few weeks, the crew unloaded about 5,500 pounds of scientific experiments and supplies from the capsule, which arrived nearly a month ago, and loaded it back up with research samples and other cargo destined for return.