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This is an archive article published on July 21, 2016
SpaceX cargo ship arrives at International space station
The Dragon spaceship was launched on Monday from Cape Canaveral, Florida atop a Falcon 9 rocket.
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In this frame from NASA TV, the SpaceX Dragon capsule arrives at the International Space Station bearing supplies on Wednesday. The shipment includes a docking port needed for future rocket ships. (Source:AP)
SpaceX’s unmanned Dragon cargo ship on Wednesday, arrived at the International Space Station, carrying nearly 2.5 tons of gear and supplies for the astronauts living in orbit, NASA said.
US space agency astronauts Jeff Williams and Kate Rubins reached out and grabbed the spacecraft, using the space station’s 57.7-foot (17.5 meter) long robotic arm known as the Canadarm2, at 6:56 AM (local time).
“We have confirmed capture,” a NASA commentator said.
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The Dragon was brought in closer and bolted on to the station about three hours later, at 10:03 am (local time) while the orbiting lab was flying about 250 miles (400 kilometers) over the California and Oregon border, NASA said.
The key piece of equipment on board is the first of two international docking adapters, which will allow commercial crew spacecraft to latch onto the research outpost in the coming years.
The first such docking adapter was destroyed in June last year when the SpaceX rocket exploded about two minutes after launch.
The current supply trip is the ninth for SpaceX under a USD 1.6 billion NASA contract to ferry science experiments, food, machinery and other gear to space.
The Dragon spaceship was launched on Monday from Cape Canaveral, Florida atop a Falcon 9 rocket.
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Astronauts plan to open the hatch to the cargo ship and begin unpacking on Friday.
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