With its fuel finally depleted Hercules allows its Cocoon Cargo Carrier to separate and fly onward toward low Earth orbit. As the Cocoon’s own inertia starts to decay the series of explosive bolts which hold nose-cone, base unit and two side panels together fire to reveal for the first time the payload which it has conveyed into space. Cocoon’s payload on this occasion has been the four central column “spine” sections which are to be attached in the first instance to the Lower Rotational Module of NASA’s MMS-1 spacecraft.