A capsule filled with space station rubbish has bitten the cosmic dust as after re-entering Earth's atmosphere high above the Pacific.
Researchers gathered information from sensors on the cargo carrier as it broke apart upon re-entry.
Built by Virginia-based Orbital ATK Inc, the capsule was cut loose from the International Space Station last week.
It followed its own orbit until it was steered into the atmosphere, where it was consumed by the heat of re-entry.
The vessel had been the scene of another fiery experiment shortly after it left the space station.
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A large blaze deliberately was ignited in it so NASA could study the spread of flames in weightlessness.
Like the re-entry test, this, too, was aimed at enhancing spacecraft safety.
The so-called Cygnus vessel was named the S.S. Rick Husband, after the commander of the doomed space shuttle Columbia.
Husband and six other astronauts were killed as Columbia broke apart during re-entry in 2003, the result of launch damage.
