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The history-making Dragon spacecraft is back on Earth. The unmanned cargo ship represents a first of its kind private venture to space. It parachuted into the Pacific six hours after leaving the International Space Station.

The unmanned Dragon capsule has splashed down into the Pacific Ocean about 800 kilometers off Mexico's Baja California.

The bell-shaped capsule ended a nine-day spaceflight riding beneath three parachutes. Dragon, built and flown by Space Exploration Technologies, or SpaceX, was the first privately owned spacecraft to reach the International Space Station.

During its mission, the capsule resupplied The International Space Station, and also brought back more than a half-ton of old station equipment. It will take a few days to transport the capsule by barge to Los Angeles. And from there, it will be trucked to the SpaceX rocket factory in Texas for unloading and inspection.

US company SpaceX's cargo vessel splash landed in the Pacific Ocean, capping a successful mission to the International Space Station that blazed a new path for private spaceflight.  [Agencies]

The United States has been without its own transportation to the International Space Station since its space shuttles were retired last year. Rather than build and operate a government-owned replacement, NASA is hiring private companies to do the work.

The mission was the successful final step in SpaceX’s bid for a 1.6 billion dollar contract to fly 12 cargo-delivery missions to the orbiting laboratory over the next few years.

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