Back with a splash

SpaceX's Dragon capsule returned to Earth today with a splash following a successful mission to the International Space Station.

At approximately 8:42 AM Pacific Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) completed its historic mission when the Dragon spacecraft splashed down safely in the Pacific. The vehicle will now be recovered by boats and start the trip back to land.

The image of the craft bobbing in the ocean is strangely reminiscent of past NASA Apollo space missions, but this flight was different as Dragon became the first commercial vehicle in history to successfully attach to the International Space Station. Previously only four governments – the United States, Russia, Japan and the European Space Agency – had achieved lofty goal.

Editors' note: This slideshow was originally published May 24 at 12:11 p.m. PT. It is being updated with new images and information as the SpaceX mission proceeds.