The Dragon spacecraft will spend five weeks connected to the International Space Station during its sixth unmanned supply flight. During that time, astronauts on the orbiting laboratory will first remove the more than two tons of supplies and equipment from inside the Dragon and then pack it up with spent experiment, used gear such as computer hardware that is no longer needed and other materials that need to be returned to Earth intact. Dragon will eventually hold about 3,000 pounds of items when it is closed and detached from the station to begin its descent back to Earth. The Dragon is equipped with a heat shield to survive the fall through the atmosphere before parachutes billow open to allow a safe landing on the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California.
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