SpaceX's Dragon cargo ship leaves space station

MIAMI (AFP) - 

SpaceX's unmanned Dragon cargo ship left the International Space Station on Wednesday before heading back to Earth for an ocean splashdown in the Pacific Ocean.

"The Dragon is released," a NASA commentator said at 9:19 am (1319 GMT), as the orbiting outpost passed over Adelaide, Australia.

The Dragon slowly floated away from the ISS, then fired its thrusters three times to lead it to a safe distance from the station.

The cargo ship is scheduled to begin its deorbit burn at 2:01 pm (1801 GMT), and will splash down in the Pacific Ocean about 2:55 pm, NASA said.

The capsule, which launched on April 8 from Cape Canaveral, Florida, is returning to Earth with more than 3,700 pounds (1,678 kilograms) of cargo.

"This cargo includes samples from human research, biology and biotechnology studies, physical science investigations and education activities," NASA said in a statement.

The spacecraft also contains the final batch of human research samples from the one-year mission completed in March by US astronaut Scott Kelly and Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko.

"We wish it a safe recovery back to planet Earth," said British astronaut Tim Peake, who operated the space station's robotic arm during the release of the spacecraft.

SpaceX's Dragon is the only cargo ship capable of returning to Earth intact. The world's other cargo vehicles burn up on re-entry to Earth's atmosphere.

© 2016 AFP