A SpaceX cargo Dragon spacecraft used in the California-based rocket launcher’s 28th commercial resupply mission to the International Space Station undocked on Thursday to head for splashdown the next morning.
Separation was confirmed at 12:30 p.m. ET as the space station passed over the northeast Indian Ocean, west of Indonesia.
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Splashdown is expected around 10:20 a.m. Friday off the Florida coast near Jacksonville.
The spacecraft carried more than 7,000 pounds of crew supplies, science experiments and hardware when it went up June 5 — arriving June 6 — on CRS-28, lofted from Kennedy Space Center to the space station with a Falcon 9 rocket. The capsule’s carry weight comes out to far less, but still more than 3,600 pounds on its return, lighter than before by at least two solar arrays, according to NASA.
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Highlighted experiments include the GRIP- Dexterous Manipulation in Microgravity chair, used in neurology experiments sponsored by the European Space Agency, as well as investigations of yogurt, muscles and monoclonal antibodies.
Watch NASA’s coverage again in the media player below:
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