SpaceX Dragon cargo craft is released from the ISS

The SpaceX Dragon cargo craft was released from the International Space Station on Monday (July 3) in preparation for a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean with over 4000 pounds (1814 kg) of cargo and experimental samples. Photo from Reuters video file.

TEXAS, United States (Reuters) – The SpaceX Dragon cargo craft was released from the International Space Station on Monday (July 3) in preparation for a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean with over 4000 pounds (1814 kg) of cargo and experimental samples.

Images from NASA showed a robotic arm detaching from the ISS and navigating the separation in preparation for the Dragon’s return to Earth.

Astronauts Peggy Whitson and Jack Fischer commanded the release of the Dragon from the ISS, where it has been attached for 28 days.

The SpaceX Dragon is the only resupply craft capable of returning to Earth intact. It will be recovered in the Pacific Ocean after splashdown at 0812 EDT (1212GMT) by a SpaceX team and taken to a research facility in California.