SpaceX capsule returns to Earth from space station

The Dragon launched April 18 and arrived at the space station April 20 with about 5,000 pounds of supplies. It is returning home with 3,564 pounds of science samples, crew supplies and vehicle hardware. Dragon is the only cargo vehicle operating today that can return significant amounts of cargo to the ground. Russian, European and Japanese cargo freighters, plus Orbital Sciences Corp.'s Cygnus, all are destroyed during reentry into the atmosphere. Russia's Soyuz carries three people up and down, but little else. The Dragon is one of several contenders to resume flights of NASA crews on U.S. vehicles in a few years. More

(Source: USA Today - May 19)