Dragon Capsule Docked with ISS

And there was much rejoicing

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Dragon Capsule became the first commercial space vehicle to dock with the International Space Station.

Dragon Capsule became the first commercial space vehicle to dock with the International Space Station.

At 11:02 Houston time, SpaceX made history as its Dragon Capsule became the first commercial space vehicle to dock with the International Space Station.

The step, which controllers were calling "second stage capture" followed the station's catching the orbiting capsule with its robotic arm at 9:56, maneuvering it into position, pushing it into the station's Earth-facing port, and releasing the tension on the robotic arm.

A successful docking is proof that the shift toward privatizing space flight is possible. But, don't forget that Dragon has to make it back to earth safely with 650 kg of ISS gear on board. And it will still probably be years before SpaceX is ferrying humans into space.

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