SpaceX's Dragon cargo ship is on its way back to Earth with scientific investigations and medical research
SpaceX's unmanned Dragon cargo ship successfully undocked from the International Space Station (ISS) Sunday morning and is making its return to Earth.
The CRS-24 cargo ship successfully exited the Space Station's "keep out sphere" at 10:40 a.m. after a previously scheduled attempt was postponed due to bad weather at its splashdown location off the Florida coast, according to statements from SpaceX. The keep out sphere is a 200-meter radius around the ISS.
NASA transmitted the undocking live on NASA TV and on its social media platforms.
The Dragon is expected to have a "parachute-assisted splashdown" off the coast of Panama City, Florida at approximately 3:05 p.m CST Monday, according to NASA. The splashdown will not be transmitted live, but NASA's space station blog will provide updates.
The experiments on board the Dragon will be transported to NASA's Space Station Processing Facility at the Kennedy Space Center after landing.
"Splashing down off the coast of Florida enables quick transportation of the experiments to NASA's Space Station Processing Facility at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, allowing researchers to collect data with minimal sample exposure to Earth's gravity," NASA said.
The cargo ship is bringing back medical supplies along with more than 4,900 pounds of valuable "cargo and research," NASA's mission control said during its transmission.
This includes a retired light imaging microscope, which has been supporting numerous scientific investigations for 12 years, as well as samples from studies on colloids.
Cytoskeleton, an investigation to analyze the impact of microgravity on cellular signaling molecules, is also onboard the Dragon.
"This investigation contributes to our understanding of how the human body responds to microgravity and could support development of countermeasures to help crew members maintain optimum health on future missions," NASA said.
The Dragon launched on Dec. 21, delivering hardware, research, and crew supplies to the ISS. The cargo ship's return will mark SpaceX's 24th "commercial resupply services mission for NASA," according to the space research agency.
RISKIN REPORTS
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Police inaction moves to centre of Uvalde shooting probe
The actions -- or more notably, the inaction -- of a school district police chief and other law enforcement officers moved swiftly to the centre of the investigation into this week's shocking school shooting in Uvalde, Texas,

Putin warns against continued arming of Ukraine; Kremlin claims another city captured
As Russia asserted progress in its goal of seizing the entirety of contested eastern Ukraine, President Vladimir Putin tried to shake European resolve Saturday to punish his country with sanctions and to keep supplying weapons that have supported Ukraine's defence.
Truth tracker: Analyzing the World Economic Forum 'Great Reset' conspiracy theory
The World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos was met with justifiable criticisms and unfounded conspiracy theories.
Woman with disabilities approved for medically assisted death relocated thanks to 'inspiring' support
A 31-year-old disabled Toronto woman who was conditionally approved for a medically assisted death after a fruitless bid for safe housing says her life has been 'changed' by an outpouring of support after telling her story.
Calling social conservatives dinosaurs was 'wrong terminology', says Patrick Brown
Federal Conservative leadership candidate Patrick Brown says calling social conservatives 'dinosaurs' in a book he wrote about his time in Ontario politics was 'the wrong terminology.'
She smeared blood on herself and played dead: 11-year-old reveals chilling details of the massacre
An 11-year-old survivor of the Robb Elementary School massacre in Uvalde, Texas, feared the gunman would come back for her so she smeared herself in her friend's blood and played dead.
Fact check: NRA speakers distort gun and crime statistics
Speakers at the National Rifle Association annual meeting assailed a Chicago gun ban that doesn't exist, ignored security upgrades at the Texas school where children were slaughtered and roundly distorted national gun and crime statistics as they pushed back against any tightening of gun laws.
Jury's duty in Depp-Heard trial doesn't track public debate
A seven-person civil jury in Virginia will resume deliberations Tuesday in Johnny Depp's libel trial against Amber Heard. What the jury considers will be very different from the public debate that has engulfed the high-profile proceedings.
Indiana police disclose cause of death of young boy found in a suitcase. They are still trying to identify him
An unidentified child who was found dead in a suitcase last month in southern Indiana died from electrolyte imbalance, officials said Friday.