14 DAY TRIAL // The Dragon capsule launched several days ago in the first ever commercial resupply mission has now been captured successfully by the International Space Station. The capsule has been grabbed by the robotic arm that will now guide it in position for docking, which will happen tomorrow.
"Using the International Space Station’s Canadian-built robotic arm, Expedition 33 Flight Engineer Aki Hoshide captured the SpaceX Dragon cargo craft," NASA said.
Once the capsule is guided into place, the docking procedure will begin. First the space between the ISS and the Dragon will be pressurized, then the capsule will be hooked into the power and data cables of the ISS.
SpaceX's Dragon will spend 18 days attached to the ISS. The crew will first unload the supplies it brought in, all 400 kg (882 pounds) of it. Then, almost twice that will be crammed in for the trip home, 760 kg or 1673 pounds.
This will be the first ISS resupply mission handled by a private company, SpaceX in this case which has a $1.6 billion contract with NASA.
The Dragon has already met with the ISS, back in May, when it was docked in a test run, so the astronauts will have some experience to rely on this time around.