SpaceX Dragon capsule splashes down in Atlantic Ocean: NASA

The SpaceX Dragon capsule successfully splashed down in the Atlantic Ocean yesterday after more than six days in space, completing its demonstration mission for US space agency NASA. “Good splashdown of Dragon confirmed!” the SpaceX account tweeted along with an image of the capsule showing its four main white and orange parachutes deployed as two boats sped toward it.

Live footage from NASA showed the capsule’s main parachutes opened without a hitch, and it splashed down at 8:45 am (1345 GMT), completing a mission to demonstrate that it could reliably and safely carry astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS).

Launched on Saturday from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Dragon docked at ISS the following day before detaching early Friday for its return to Earth. SpaceX, founded by Elon Musk in 2002, was selected along with the Boeing group by NASA in 2014 to develop the next generation of space vehicles for US astronauts, after the end of the 1981-2011 space shuttle program.

Only a test dummy was aboard for the test, but the first manned flight aboard Dragon is scheduled for July with two astronauts -- a date that could be postponed until later this year.