SpaceX Dragon begins trip to Earth from space station

The SpaceX Dragon capsule seen after its arrival at the International Space Station on April 10, 2016, two days after its launch from Cape Canaveral. MELBOURNE, Fla. -- An unmanned SpaceX Dragon capsule is on its way back to Earth, headed for a Pacific Ocean splashdown at 2:55 p.m. Eastern Time. The capsule carrying 3,700 pounds of equipment and experiments floated away from the International Space Station in darkness at 9:19 a.m., after being released by a 58-foot robotic arm controlled by British astronaut Tim Peake, while the spacecraft flew about 260 miles southwest of Adelaide, Australia. "The Dragon spacecraft has served us well," Peaked radioed to NASA mission controllers in Houston. "It's good to see it departing full of science, and we wish it a safe recovery back to planet Earth."