SpaceX Dragon successfully docks with International Space Station

Dragon in orbit above sub-Saharan Africa

NASA

After some issues with its thrusters hours after launch, the SpaceX Dragon capsule successfully docked with the International Space Station. NASA reported that the capsule attached to the Harmony module of the ISS at 8:56am EST Sunday morning, with the door set to be opened on Monday morning.

Dragon took off from Cape Canaveral on Friday morning and reached orbit without a hitch, but a pressure problem prevented the thruster pods from initializing once orbit was attained. The four pods then gradually came online over the course of the day. Two pods are needed to get Dragon to the ISS with a third pod necessary for successfully maneuvering once the station is reached.

Loaded with nearly 1,270 pounds of supplies (575kg, to be exact), Dragon will spend the next 22 days docked with the ISS. On its return, the capsule will carry more than 1,200kg of cargo, according to NASA. Included in the return payload will be seedlings and metal mixtures that spent time in low gravity, along with biological samples taken from the crew.