A SpaceX capsule has successfully docked with the International Space Station.
Just before 6 am, the Dragon space capsule was captured by a NASA Commander and European Space Agency Engineer, docking with the International Space Station(ISS). The great footage was captured using a robotic arm.
A previous attempt had to be aborted after the capsule developed navigational problems. This launch is the 10th Space mission that SpaceX has flown for NASA, and it was carrying around 5,000 pounds of supplies and experiments for the six Astronauts who are on board the capsule. They include two Americans, three Russians, and one Frenchman.
In the past two years, SpaceX has encountered two major setbacks in its quest to dock at the ISS; in June 2015, a supply mission exploded and burst into flames just a few minutes after launching. While in September, another rocket exploded while being fuelled at the Kennedy Space Center.
Despite the challenges, SpaceX was back at it in January with the successful launch of Falcon 9 which took place at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. It was loaded with 10 Iridium communication satellites.
This Sunday’s launch did experience any hurdles as well. The journey took four days, and the Dragon spaceship approached the space station from below, pausing at some points for status checks from the ground crew.
After the cargo has been unloaded in Space by the capsules crew, it will be packed with trash and sent back to Earth. It is expected to crash into the Pacific Ocean just off Mexico around March.