SpaceX's unmanned Dragon cargo ship arrived Monday at the
International Space Station, carrying 2.6 tons of food and supplies for
the astronauts at the orbiting research laboratory.
"We have captured Dragon," NASA commentator Rob Navias said as the
space station's robotic arm, operated by commander Barry "Butch"
Wilmore, grappled the spacecraft at 5:54 am (1054 GMT), according to
NASA's television broadcast.
Wilmore was
assisted by European Space Agency flight engineer Samantha Cristoforetti
as they used the station's 17.6-meter (57.7-foot) robotic arm to reach
out and capture the Dragon spacecraft.
The rendezvous was "flawless," Navias said.
Dragon was bolted onto the station's Earth-facing Harmony node at 8:54 (1354 GMT).
The cargo ship launched atop a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral,
Florida on Saturday. It marked the fifth of at least 12 planned official
missions for SpaceX which has a $1.6 billion contract with NASA to
supply the space station.
The equipment on board
includes a NASA-developed system known as the Cloud-Aerosol Transport
System (CATS) for measuring tiny particles called aerosols in the
atmosphere.
Ready-made meals, science experiments, an IMAX camera and tools to help astronauts during spacewalks are also in the payload.
Astronauts may begin unloading the spacecraft as early as Monday afternoon.
Dragon will spend about a month there before returning to Earth with
over 3,600 pounds (1,600 kilograms) of cargo that is no longer needed by
the crew in space, as well as computer equipment and science
experiments that need further analysis on Earth.
The spaceship is the only cargo vessel in the world that can return to
Earth intact. Other supply ships burn up on re-entry to Earth's
atmosphere.
It will head back to Earth for an ocean splashdown on February 10, NASA said. — Agence France-Presse
source: gmanetwork.com
