NASA robotic arm grabs, docks SpaceX Dragon

10.10.2012
A robotic arm onboard the International Space Station reached out and grabbed hold of the SpaceX Dragon cargo ship today, attaching the commercial craft to the station.

The station's Canadarm captured the spacecraft at 6:56 a.m. EDT as it flew within about 32 feet of the orbiter, which was traveling 250 miles above the Pacific Ocean, just west of Baja California. At 9:03 a.m., the Dragon was attached to the space station.

Calling it a "key milestone in a new era of commercial spaceflight, NASA announced that the hatch between the and the space station was opened this afternoon.

The Dragon delivered 882 pounds of supplies to the station, including 260 pounds of crew supplies, 390 pounds of scientific research equipment and 225 pounds of hardware.

"This marks the start of a new era of exploration for the United States, one where we will reduce the cost of missions to low-Earth orbit so we can focus our resources on deep space human missions back around the moon, to an asteroid and eventually to Mars," NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said in a statement."

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Florida's Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on Sunday night, carrying the Dragon capsule into orbit.