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SpaceX capsule returns to Earth The SpaceX Dragon capsule detached from the international space station Thursday morning and returned to Earth.
May 31, 2012
The SpaceX Dragon cargo capsule is seen floating in the Pacific Ocean after returning from its mission to the International Space Station.
MICHAEL ALTENHOFEN
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AFP/GETTY IMAGES
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May 31, 2012
The SpaceX Dragon cargo capsule sits on a barge after being retrieved from the Pacific Ocean. "Splashdown successful!!" SpaceX chief executive Elon Musk said in a tweet after the unmanned capsule landed in the water off the Mexican coast at 11:42 a.m. EDT.
MICHAEL ALTENHOFEN
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AFP/GETTY IMAGES
May 31, 2012
This image from NASA-TV shows the SpaceX Dragon capsule just after it was released by the international space station’s Canadarm2 robotic arm at 5:49 a.m. Eastern time. The Dragon capsule is scheduled for splashdown at 11:44 a.m. in the Pacific Ocean.
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AP
May 31, 2012
The SpaceX Dragon commercial cargo craft is seen attached to the international space station's Canadarm2 robotic arm as it was detached from the station in preparation for its return to Earth in this image from NASA-TV .
NASA
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Reuters
May 31, 2012
The SpaceX Dragon commercial cargo craft is seen in a camera on the end of the international space station's Canadarm2 robotic arm as the capsule moves away from the station in preparation for its return to Earth in this image from NASA-TV.
NASA
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Reuters
May 26, 2012
The SpaceX Dragon commercial cargo craft is seen docked to the international space station in this image from NASA TV. The California-based SpaceX is the first private company to send a vessel to the space station.
NASA
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Reuters
May 26, 2012
NASA astronaut Donald Pettit, left, and space station commander Oleg Kononenko of Russia open the hatch of the SpaceX Dragon commercial cargo craft. Pettit said the Dragon looks like it carries about as much cargo as his pickup truck back home in Houston. It has the smell of a new car, he added.
NASA
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Reuters
May 26, 2012
Oleg Kononenko works inside the SpaceX Dragon capsule, as seen from a camera mounted inside the new module. The six space station residents have until the middle of next week to unload Dragon's supplies and refill the capsule with science experiments and equipment for return to Earth.
NASA
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Reuters
May 26, 2012
NASA astronaut Donald Pettit, left, and international space station commander Oleg Kononenko signal a successful opening of the SpaceX Dragon capsule. To protect against possible debris, the two wore goggles and masks as they slid open the hatch. Pettit also wore a headlamp.
NASA
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Reuters
May 25, 2012
This image provided by NASA-TV shows the SpaceX Dragon commercial cargo craft after it was grappled by the Canadarm2 robotic arm and connected to the international space station. Dragon is scheduled to spend about a week docked with the station before returning to Earth on May 31 for retrieval. The successful attachment marks the first time a commercial craft has successfully berthed wih the international space station.
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AP
May 25, 2012
The Dragon capsule is shown after it was grappled by the Canadarm2 robotic arm and connected to the international space station.
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AP
May 25, 2012
The SpaceX Dragon capsule approaches the international space station.
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AP
May 25, 2012
A view of the Dragon capsule taken from Canadarm2's video camera as Dragon approaches the station. In foreground is a portion of Canadarm2. Expedition 31 Flight Engineers Don Pettit and Andre Kuipers used the Canadarm2 robotic arm to grapple the supply ship Friday morning.
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AP
May 24, 2012
The SpaceX Dragon commercial cargo craft approaches the international space station for a series of tests in this handout supplied by NASA.
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Reuters
May 25, 2012
The SpaceX Dragon capsule is seen with part of the international space station in the foreground as it holds position 350 meters from the International Space Station.
NASA
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Reuters
May 25, 2012
The SpaceX Dragon commercial cargo craft is seen in the docking port camera display of the international space station as it holds position as the crew of the ISS conducts tests before the final approach, grapple and docking of the capsule.
NASA
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Reuters
This computer generated image provided by SpaceX shows their Dragon spacecraft with solar panels deployed.
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AP
May 22, 2012
The Falcon 9 SpaceX rocket lifts off in Cape Canaveral at 3:44 a.m. This launch marks the first time, a private company sends its own rocket to deliver supplies to the International Space Station.
John Raoux
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AP
May 22, 2012
The Falcon 9 SpaceX rocket lifts off in Cape Canaveral, Fla., early Tuesday morning. In a tweet to followers shortly after the launch, SpaceX founder Elon Musk wrote, “Falcon flew perfectly!! Dragon in orbit, comm locked and solar arrays active!! Feels like a giant weight just came off my back.” John P. Holdren, the Assistant to the President for Science and Technology, issued a statement reading, in part, “Every launch into space is a thrilling event, but this one is especially exciting because it represents the potential of a new era in American spaceflight. “
John Raoux
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AP
May 22, 2012
The SpaceX Falcon 9 test rocket lifts off from Space Launch Complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Fla. The rocket blasted off Tuesday for a mission designed to be the first commercial flight to the international space station. The mock shuttle Explorer, in the foreground, had been on display at the Kennedy Space Center Complex, and will be moved to the Johnson Space Center in Houston this week in order to make room for the arrival of Space Shuttle Atlantis.
Pierre Ducharme
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Reuters
May 22, 2012
The Falcon 9 SpaceX rocket is seen during a time exposure as it lifts off at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Fla., early Tuesday.
John Raoux
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AP
May 22, 2012
SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft atop rocket Falcon 9 lifts off from Pad 40 of the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Titusville, Fla.
Roberto Gonzalez
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Getty Images
May 19, 2012
The SpaceX Falcon 9 test rocket launch is pictured at Complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Fla. The launch of the privately owned rocket from Cape Canaveral was delayed Saturday when a computer detected a possible problem with one of the rocket's engines, a Space Exploration Technologies official said.
Pierre Ducharme
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Reuters
May 19, 2012
SpaceX technicians work around the No. 5 rocket engine on the SpaceX Falcon 9 in the Space Launch Complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.
Pierre Ducharme
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Reuters
May 18, 2012
A Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft stand at Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida during a wet dress rehearsal ahead of the launch of a demonstration mission to the International Space Station. Both the rocket and spacecraft are made by Space Exploration Technologies, better known as SpaceX.
Cory Huston
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NASA
July 7, 2011
The second stage for the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is transported to the SpaceX hangar at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The Falcon 9 rocket will launch a second Dragon spacecraft. SpaceX and NASA planned for a May launch of the rocket to the International Space Station, though delays could pop up if data checks from testing turn up problems.
Jim Grossmann
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NASA
Nov. 23, 2011
Members of the news media learn about the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, which the company designed from scratch to be reliable and relatively inexpensive. A NASA analysis published last year found that SpaceX spent only about a third what NASA would have to develop the rocket.
Jim Grossmann
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NASA
April 26, 2012
In a processing facility at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Space Launch Complex 40 in Florida, the SpaceX Dragon capsule is rotated into a horizontal position for joining with the second stage of the company’s Falcon 9 rocket.
Jim Grossmann
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NASA
April 4, 2012
In a processing hangar at Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, SpaceX technicians stow cargo in the Dragon capsule in preparation for its scheduled liftoff aboard a Falcon 9 rocket.
Jim Grossmann
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NASA
April 4, 2012
In a processing hangar at Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, crews prepare to load cargo into the SpaceX Dragon capsule for its scheduled liftoff aboard the Falcon 9 rocket.
Jim Grossmann
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NASA
April 19, 2012
In the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a cargo bag designed to keep its contents cool is readied to receive the NanoRacks-CubeLabs Module-9 experiments. The module's experiments requiring cold stowage are being prepared for transport to Space Launch Complex 40 at nearby Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The bags will be loaded into the SpaceX Dragon capsule in preparation for its liftoff aboard a Falcon 9 rocket. If all goes well, the flight will deliver 1,100 pounds of food, water and other cargo to the International Space Station.
Jim Grossmann
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NASA
March 28, 2012
NASA astronaut Megan McArthur performs a crew equipment interface test with the SpaceX Dragon capsule inside a processing hangar at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Space Launch Complex 40. Although only cargo flights are in the near future, SpaceX is also looking to beat out three other companies, Boeing, Sierra Nevada and Blue Origin (founded by Amazon's Jeff Bezos), for a contract to carry astronauts to and from the International Space Station.
Paul Bonness
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SpaceX
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