International Space Station Detaches Commercial Cargo Module

The commercial SpaceX/Dragon cargo craft detached from the International Space Station and departed it on Sunday, August 17, one month after dropping off more than three tons of supplies and equipment for the station’s crew, NASA said.

Expedition 53 Flight Engineer Paolo Nespoli of the European Space Agency and station Commander Randy Bresnik used a robotic arm to release Dragon from the Earth-facing port of the Harmony module, NASA said.

The SpaceX/Dragon was to move a safe distance away from the station before its engine conducted a “deorbit burn,” enabling it to drop out of orbit for a parachute-assisted splashdown in the Pacific southwest of Long Beach, California, the space agency said.

Dragon was launched on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from the Kennedy Space Center on August 14. Credit: NASA via Storyful