Dragon

SpaceX’s Dragon cargo spacecraft has returned from the International Space Station (ISS) carrying 3,700lb of Nasa cargo, science and technology demonstration samples.

With the help of parachutes, the spacecraft landed in the Pacific Ocean, 259 miles southwest of Long Beach, California, on Tuesday.

Dragon was launched atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on 10 January 2015. It transported more than 5,000lb of supplies and elements to the ISS.

According to Nasa, Dragon is the only space station resupply spacecraft with the ability to bring down a significant amount of cargo to Earth.

Nasa’s Johnson Space Center International Space Station Program deputy chief scientist Kirt Costello said: "The ability to resupply and return this critical research continues to be an invaluable asset for the researchers here on Earth using the International Space Station as their laboratory in orbit."

"According to Nasa, Dragon is the only space station resupply spacecraft with the ability to bring down a significant amount of cargo to Earth."

Cargo carried by the spacecraft to Earth included printed parts and hardware from the first technology demonstration of 3D printing in space, which will support scientists in exploring a journey to Mars.

The 3D printer demonstration used relatively low-temperature plastic feedstock on the space station. The test phase ended with a printed ratchet wrench made with a design file transmitted from Earth to the printer, Nasa said.

Dragon also returned samples, hardware and data from several biology and biotechnology studies performed on the station, such as the Advancing Membrane Protein Crystallization by Using Microgravity investigation, and the Advanced Plant Experiments 03-1.

The current mission was the fifth of 12 SpaceX cargo trips planned through 2016 under Nasa’s Commercial Resupply Services contract.

The launch of NOAA’s DSCOVR on a Falcon 9 rocket was postponed to Wednesday, after upper-level winds cancelled an attempt on Tuesday.

To be placed on a course to L1, an area a million miles from Earth, DSCOVR will provide critical data necessary for NOAA space weather forecasters.

Image: Dragon leaving the space station before it landed in the Pacific Ocean. Photo: courtesy of Nasa.