SpaceX Dragon Leaves International Space Station to Return to Earth

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In this photo provided by NASA, the SpaceX Dragon capsule is berthed at the International Space Station Sunday April 20, 2014 as photographed by the Expedition 39 crew members onboard the orbital outpost.

Image: NASA/Associated Press

By Chelsea Stark2014-05-18 18:27:41 UTC

The privately funded Dragon spacecraft left the International Space Station on Sunday morning, and will return to Earth later in the afternoon.

Dragon was released from the ISS' robotic arm at 9:26 a.m. ET, and is scheduled to splashdown in the Pacific Ocean at 3:02 p.m. ET, 300 miles off the west coast of Baja California, according to NASA.

See also: Robot Spacecraft Snaps Uranus Through Rings of Saturn

Dragon developer SpaceX tweeted photos of the spacecraft leaving the ISS. Dragon was sent to resupply the space station, and bring other supplies home.

Dragon's next steps include orbiting the Earth for about five hours, after which it will conduct a deorbit burn just after 2 p.m. ET, according to news site NASA Space Flight .

Here's how NASA describes a deorbit burn:

When it is time to return to Earth, the orbiter is rotated tail-first into the direction of travel to prepare for another firing of the orbital maneuvering system engines. This firing is called the deorbit burn.

Dragon will then re-enter the atmosphere, and deploy its parachutes, before touching down in the Pacific Ocean.

The unmanned spacecraft is bringing home more than 1,600 pounds of scientific supplies, including "samples from biology, biotechnology and physical science investigations, as well as human research," according to NASA.

One of the studies done aboard the ISS included examining drug-resistant bacteria in microgravity, as previous experiments had found that antibiotics were less effective in space. NASA said these experiments could lead to creating more effective antibiotics on Earth.

We'll update this story during Dragon's descent to Earth. Stay tuned...

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Topics: International Space Station, Space, SpaceX, SpaceX Dragon, US & World, US & World