Main » 2013»March»3 » Private “Dragon” spacecraft was docked to ISS.
Private “Dragon” spacecraft was docked to ISS.
22:36
On March 3, 2013 at 13:56 UTC the "Dragon” unmanned supply spacecraft was berthed to the Harmony module of the International Space Station. Operating the Canadian-built robotic arm, US astronauts Kevin Ford and Thomas Marshburn grappled the privately-owned Dragon cargo ship at 10:31 UTC. The astronauts handed over control of the lab's robotic arm, nicknamed Canadarm 2, for engineers in Houston and Canada to maneuver the Dragon spacecraft into position on the Earth-facing port of the space station's Harmony module. It was the first time controllers on the ground used the arm to install a newly-arrived spacecraft on the space station. The hatches between the newly arrived spacecraft and the Harmony module of the space station are scheduled to be opened on March 4. The capsule is scheduled to spend 22 days attached to the station. It is the second of at least 12 flights to the ISS that SpaceX carries out under its $1.6 billion Commercial Resupply Services contract. Last year, the Dragon made a demonstration flight to the space station in May and carried out the first resupply mission in October, delivering about 450 kg of cargo to the ISS.
