Update: Space station astronauts capture Dragon
WASHINGTON – Astronauts on the International Space Station reached out and grabbed a U.S. commercial spacecraft in darkness about 250 statute miles over Australia at 9:56 a.m. EDT on Friday (May 25).
Expedition 31 flight engineer Don Pettit used the space station’s robotic arm to grab the Dragon cargo ship launched by SpaceX on Tuesday. “Capture is confirmed,” Pettit told NASA’s Mission Control in Houston. “We’ve got us a Dragon by the tail!”
The astronauts will next attempt to attach Dragon to the space station's earth-facing Harmony node later today. Mission controllers said they expect to complete the "berthing" of Dragon to the docking port by the end of the day. They informed the space station's Expedition 31 crew that Dragon's "mating surface" that will connect to the station looked good.
The "grappling" procedure was delayed by almost an hour while flight controllers worked out kinks in Dragon's laser range-finding radar.
If the current schedule holds, the space station's six-man crew will open Dragon's hatch on Saturday, then unload its approximately 1,000 pounds cargo of food, clothing and equipment. They will then fill Dragon with return cargo such as unneeded space-walking equipment.
NASA is scheduled to hold a status briefing on Dragon's historic mission to the International Space Station later today. Live video from the International Space Station can be viewed here.
The Dragon spacecraft as seen from the International Space Station on Friday (May 25) at a distance of about 30 meters. (NASA TV)
TAG:Dragon ISS
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