spacetoday.net: Dragon capsule departs ISS and returns to Earth

Posted: Sun, Oct 28, 2012, 9:40 PM ET (0140 GMT)
Dragon after CRS-1 splashdown (SpaceX)

A Dragon cargo spacecraft left the International Space Station on Sunday morning and splashed down in the Pacific Ocean several hours later. The Dragon spacecraft was unberthed from the station by the Canadarm2 robotic arm at 7:19 am EDT (1119 GMT) Sunday and released by the arm just over two hours later. Dragon departed from the station and, several hours later, reentered, splashing down in the planned recovery zone approximately 400 kilometers off the coast of Baja California at 3:22 pm EDT (1922 GMT). SpaceX reported that the capsule was soon loaded onto a recovery boat, which is heading back to the port of Los Angeles. Dragon is carrying 760 kilograms of equipment, experiments, and other items from the station. The landing marks the end of the first commercial resupply mission, three weeks after a Falcon 9 launched the Dragon spacecraft from Cape Canaveral, Florida.