Video: Soyuz MS-01 leaves the space station for landing

Five European satellites packaged inside an aerodynamic fairing have joined a Soyuz rocket its launch pad in the French Guiana jungle for a roaring ride into orbit Friday.

Nearly four weeks after its arrival at the International Space Station, a SpaceX Dragon supply ship departed the research lab Saturday and dropped out of orbit for a parachute-assisted splashdown in the Pacific Ocean southwest of Los Angeles. The Dragon capsule was released from the station’s robotic arm at 4:58 a.m. EST (0958 GMT), and splashdown occurred at approximately 10:36 a.m. EST (1536 GMT).

Four days before its scheduled blastoff on a resupply run to the International Space Station, a Falcon 9 rocket ran through a countdown rehearsal and engine test Sunday at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.