
SpaceX’s Dragon capsule has successfully docked with the International Space Station, making SpaceX the first privately owned company in history to achieve such a feat.
This success came after a long period of planning and several launch delays. While there’s still work to be done (the Dragon must successfully return to Earth), it’s a historic event, hopefully marking the beginning of a new era of privately funded space exploration.
Now that the docking process is complete, the astronauts aboard the ISS will open the Dragon’s hatch and unload the supplies the spacecraft is carrying.
After that, they’ll load used equipment into the Dragon, which will return back to Earth approximately two weeks later. The Dragon is scheduled to land in the Pacific, hundreds of miles west of Southern California.
Check out a gallery of photos from the mission tweeted by SpaceX below and our interview with SpaceX’s founder and chief designer Elon Musk here.
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SpaceX Dragon Capsule flying in formation with the ISS

Dragon Flying over the World

ISS Arm Moving toward Dragon in a Graphic View

Dragon Graphic of the Approach Plan

NASA Mission Control 2

Dragon and ISS Coming Together Sideview

Dragon and the ISS Grapple

NASA and SpaceX Move the Dragon Back Away from the ISS

Dragon Flying Near the ISS (Courtesy of SpaceX)

Space X Dragon Capsule Gets Closer

Dragon in Shadow of ISS-Holding at 30 meters

Dragon Closing in and over the Clouds

Dragon With Shadow of ISS

Dragon With Shadow Moving as the Two Crafts Fly Together

Dragon in Shadow of ISS Awaiting Instructions

NASA Mission Control

NASA Mission Control Data Screens

Dragon Right Outside the ISS

Dragon Very Close to the ISS

ISS Grapple Arm and Dragon Sideview

Go for Capture- Dragon

ISS Arm Extending to Dragon Capsule

Dragon Close view with Grapple Target

ISS Arm Closing In

Gotcha Dragon

Mission Control Celebrates a Successful Dock

space-x-dragon-and-iss-connected

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