SpaceX arrives ISS
Operating the station's 58-foot robotic arm, NASA astronaut Barry "Butch" Wilmore snared the unmanned spacecraft at 5:54 a.m. EST as it floated 262 miles over the Mediterranean Sea.
"It's nice to have it onboard, and we'll be digging in soon," Wilmore, commander of the six-person Expedition 42 crew, radioed to flight controllers on the ground.
He was assisted by Italian astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti.The Dragon is packed with more than 5,000 pounds of food, supplies and science experiments, including a NASA science instrument designed to improve the study of climate change.
The spacecraft launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station atop a Falcon 9 rocket at 4:47 a.m. Saturday.
After the launch, SpaceX tried to land the Falcon 9 booster on an ocean platform, but the rocket stage was unable to slow down enough and crashed into the ship.
Monday's capture of the Dragon, however, confirmed a successful first leg of SpaceX's fifth of 12 resupply missions under a $1.6 billion NASA contract.
It was the first commercial cargo delivery by a U.S. company since the October failure of an Orbital Sciences Corp. Antares rocket shortly after liftoff from Virginia, an event that has increased NASA's reliance on SpaceX throughout this year.
The space station's six astronauts were getting a little low on supplies. That's because the previous supply ship — owned by another company — was destroyed in an October launch explosion. NASA scrambled to get replacement equipment aboard Dragon, as did schoolchildren who rustled up new science projects.
Then Dragon was stalled a month by rocket snags; it should have reached the space station well before Christmas.
Mission Control joked about missing not only the December shipment date, but Eastern Orthodox Christmas on Jan. 7 as well.
"We're excited to have it on board," Wilmore said. "We'll be digging in soon."
He's especially eager to get more mustard. The station's condiment cabinet is empty.
About two hours after astronauts grappled the Dragon, engineers in Houston planned to send commands to the robotic arm to berth the spacecraft at a station port, after which its hatch could be opened and the cargo unloading begin.
Once scheduled to launch in mid-December, the capsule's cargo includes belated Christmas presents.
The Dragon is expected to remain bolted to the ISS for about a month before returning to Earth with a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean.