SpaceX's Dragon cargo spacecraft arrived at the International Space Station on Sunday morning (April 20), two days after launching from Cape Canaveral, Florida.
Expedition 39 crew members Koichi Wakata and Rick Mastracchio monitored the Dragon's approach from inside the station's Cupola. The rendezvous with the outpost went smoothly, though the capsule experienced several communication dropouts, which were resolved well within the 30-second allowance.
Wakata was at the controls of the station's Canadarm2 robotic arm when it was moved in to capture the Dragon at 6:14 a.m. CDT (1114 GMT). At the time of grapple, the two spacecraft were 260 miles (420 kilometers) above the Nile River in Africa.
"Capture is complete," Wakata radioed to NASA's Mission Control in Houston. "Congratulations to the entire ops team for the successful launch, rendezvous and capture operation."
"The vehicle, the spacecraft, was very solid and very stable. And the Canadarm2 is really solid. It made it easy for us to capture," Wakata said.
The Dragon was berthed to the station's Harmony module at 9:06 a.m. CDT (1406 GMT) while orbiting above Brazil.
The hatch between the newly-arrived spacecraft and space station is scheduled to be opened on Monday. The Dragon is slated to spend 28 days at the outpost.