On Sunday, the SpaceX Dragon cargo craft carrying more than 3,500 pounds of NASA science samples and cargo will return back to Earth. The commercial cargo craft will execute three thruster firings to move a safe distance away from the station for its deorbit burn at 2:08 p.m. EDT. Dragon, which delivered about 2.5 tons of science and supplies to the station for the SpaceX-3 commercial resupply services mission when it arrived at the complex April 20, will splash down for recovery off the coast of California at 3:02 p.m. (12:02 p.m. PDT). This image of a wish-bone shaped display of Aurora Australis over the Indian Ocean serves as a very colorful backdrop for the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft which is berthed to the International Space Station.
Image Credit: NASA
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