Mission Pictures: SpaceX's 1st Dragon Flight to Space Station

SpaceX COTS-2 Mission Patches

collectSPACE.com

SpaceX embroidered mission patches like those packed aboard their first attempt at flying the company’s Dragon capsule to the International Space Station.

Inside the Dragon Capsule

ESA/NASA

This image of the inside of the Dragon module was taken by European Space Agency astronaut Andre Kuipers. The image was released May 29, 2012

Dragon Floats in Pacific

NASA TV

SpaceX's Dragon capsule floats in the Pacific Ocean as seen in this enhanced video image, May 31, 2012.

Dragon Splashdown Map

NASA TV

A map shows where Dragon was expected to splashdown in the Pacific Ocean on May 31, 2012.

Elon Musk in SpaceX Mission Control

NASA TV

Elon Musk of SpaceX (3rd from right in front row, hand on his head), watches as the Dragon capsule returns to Earth, May 31, 2012.

Dragon Main Chutes Deployed

NASA TV

Dragon's main chutes are faintly visible as SpaceX's spacecraft returns to Earth on Thursday, May 31, 2012.

Dragon Re-entry First Sighting

NASA TV

Dragon capsule is barely visible (circled) as a white blob in the middle of this image, as it returns to Earth on Thursday, May 31, 2012.

SpaceX Dragon Detached from ISS

NASA TV

SpaceX's Dragon space capsule is detached from its docking port on the International Space Station on May 31, 2012 ahead of the spacecraft's return to Earth to end its first voyage to the orbiting lab.

SpaceX Dragon Capsule After Splashdown

SpaceX/Michael Altenhofen

SpaceX's first Dragon capsule to visit the International Space Station bobs in the Pacific Ocean after a successful splashdown that capped its successful test flight on May 31, 2012. The capsule landed off the coast of Baja California.

Dragon Floats in Pacific

NASA TV

SpaceX's Dragon capsule floats in the Pacific Ocean as seen in this enhanced video image, May 31, 2012.

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Space.com is the premier source of space exploration, innovation and astronomy news, chronicling (and celebrating) humanity's ongoing expansion across the final frontier. Originally founded in 1999, Space.com is, and always has been, the passion of writers and editors who are space fans and also trained journalists. Our current news team consists of Editor-in-Chief Tariq Malik; Editor Hanneke Weitering, Senior Space Writer Mike Wall; Senior Writer Meghan Bartels; Senior Writer Chelsea Gohd, Senior Writer Tereza Pultarova and Staff Writer Alexander Cox, focusing on e-commerce. Senior Producer Steve Spaleta oversees our space videos, with Diana Whitcroft as our Social Media Editor.