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First re-flown commercial spacecraft returns from International Space Station

Posted at 9:38 AM, Jul 03, 2017
and last updated 2017-07-03 09:38:59-04

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft successfully returned to Earth Monday morning after completing a delivery to the International Space Station.

The spacecraft was launched to the ISS on June 3 and docked with the station on June 5.

It was the first time SpaceX had reused a spacecraft to ferry cargo to the ISS. The Dragon spacecraft used in this mission was previously flown in a September 2014 trip to the ISS.

SpaceX has completed 10 previous resupply missions to the ISS since 2012 and used a different Dragon each time.

The spacecraft delivered nearly 6,000 pounds of supplies to the ISS crew — everything from food for the crew to fruit flies and rodents to be used in various experiments.

The spacecraft stayed docked with the ISS for about a month. It was loaded with over 4,100 pounds of lab results and garbage before being released at 2:41 a.m.  EST on Monday morning.

Dragon splashed down in the Pacific Ocean, southwest of Long Beach, at approximately 8:14 a.m. EST, marking the first successful re-flight of a commercial spacecraft to and from the International Space Station.

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