First privately designed, funded, operated, recovered, and paid space ship splashed down May 31. SpaceX’s Dragon capsule returned from its resupply mission to the International Space Station. It will be towed to Los Angeles. How’s that for a more efficient recovery methodology?
See Space.com’s article – Space Dragon Capsule Splashes Down in Pacific, Ending Historic Test Flight.
The article points out this is the first resupply ship that brings things back. It returned with 1,367 pounds of cargo, including completed experiments.