SpaceX Dragon Makes Safe Return from International Space Station

The Dragon Capsule at the ISS.
Photo courtesy of NASA

SpaceX's Dragon supply ship made a safe return to Earth Thursday morning, splashing down in the Pacific after a nine-day voyage to the International Space Station.

The unmanned capsule splashed down about 500 miles off the Baja Peninsula, bringing with it about a half-ton of old equipment.

The Dragon was the first commercial space craft to visit the International Space Station, and it brought back to NASA the agency's first load of equipment since the Space Shuttle program ended.

It brought to the Space Station some 1,146 pounds of food and other crew provisions.

"We are hoping to continue working with NASA and hopefully flying crew within three years," said Elon Musk, CEO and chief designer for Space Exploration Technologies (or SpaceX). "This was a crucial step and makes the chances of becoming a multi planet species more likely."