Dragon ends successful mission

The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft splashed down Thursday in the Pacific after a successful cargo mission to the International Space Station. The historic nine-day mission, the first privately owned and operated spacecraft to dock with the ISS, has ushered in what is expected to be a highly competitive field of private space flight. The capsule splashed down west of Baja California. It delivered cargo to the ISS and brought back cargo that will be turned over to NASA. SpaceX is short for Space Exploration Technologies, based in Hawthorne, Calif. (Sources: multiple, including Los Angeles Times, MSNBC, CNET, 05/31/12) Gulf Coast note: Stennis Space Center, Miss., is testing rocket engines for other companies planning commercial space flights.