Space Exploration Technologies Corp.s spacecraft docked with the International Space Station a day late after recovering from engine malfunctions, according to the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

The unmanned craft operated by the Hawthorne, California- based company known as SpaceX was in place at 8:56 a.m. today, NASA said in a statement, and it will stay for 22 days before returning for a Pacific Ocean splashdown. This is the companys second of at least a dozen planned supply missions to the station, a $1.6 billion contract.

Just after Dragons March 1 launch, three of the crafts four thruster pods didnt initially work and had to be remotely coaxed back online. Elon Musk, head of SpaceX, had said a preliminary review suggested the malfunction may have stemmed from a blocked or stuck fuel valve.

Spaceflight will never be risk-free, but its a critical achievement that we once again have a U.S. capability to transport science to and from the International Space Station, said William Gerstenmaier, an associate administrator at NASA, in a statement.

The cargo vessel is delivering 1,268 pounds of supplies to support the space stations operations and experiments, according to NASA. It will return with 2,668 pounds of research samples that scientists hope will help them study spaceflights effects on humans, plant samples that may aid in producing food for longer space missions and crystals meant to help improve solar cells and electronics.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jesse Hamilton in Washington at jhamilton33@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Ann Hughey at ahughey@bloomberg.net

Space Exploration Technologies Corp. via Bloomberg

Space Exploration Technologies Corp.'s unmanned Dragon capsule is seen in orbit, in this undated handout photo.

Space Exploration Technologies Corp.'s unmanned Dragon capsule is seen in orbit, in this undated handout photo. Source: Space Exploration Technologies Corp. via Bloomberg

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SpaceX Dragon Docks With Space Station After Engine Woes

A privately ownedDragoncapsule arrived a day late at the International Space Station on Sunday, delivering a ton of supplies with high-flying finesse after a shaky start to the mission.

A privately ownedDragoncapsule arrived at the International Space Station on Sunday, delivering a ton of supplies with high-flying finesse after a shaky start to the mission.

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TheDragon'sarrival was one day late but especially sweet and not because of the fresh fruit on board for the station astronauts who snared the capsule.

SpaceX, the California-based company founded by billionaire Elon Musk, had to struggle with theDragon following its launch Friday from Cape Canaveral. A clogged pressure line or stuck valve prevented thrusters from working, and it took flight controllers several hours to gain control and salvage the mission.

In the end, theDragonapproached the orbiting lab with its 1-ton load about as smoothly as could be expected, with all of its thrusters, or little maneuvering rockets, operating perfectly. The capture occurred as the two spacecraft zoomed 250 miles above Ukraine.

"As they say, it's not where you start, but where you finish that counts," said space station commander Kevin Ford, "and you guys really finished this one on the mark."

He added: "We've got lots of science on there to bring aboard and get done. So congratulations to all of you."

Among the items on board: 640 seeds of a flowering weed used for research, mouse stem cells, food and clothes for the six men on board the space station, trash bags, computer equipment, air purifiers, spacewalking tools and batteries. The company also tucked away apples and other fresh treats from an employee's family orchard.

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Tamed Dragon supply ship arrives at space station (+video)

A new photo taken from the International Space Station shows an ecologically diverse area of Panama in a new light.

The picture is the first taken by a new Earth-observing tool recently installed on the orbiting science laboratory, and shows the San Pablo River emptying into the Gulf of Montijo, reported NASA's Earth Observatory.

"It is an ecological transition zone, changing from agriculture and pastures to mangrove forests, swamps, and estuary systems," the Earth Observatory wrote.

NASA officials hope that the ISERV Pathfinder camera (short for International Space Station SERVIR Environmental Research and Visualization System) will give scientists on the ground more insight into environmental issues around the globe.

"ISERV's full potential is yet to be seen, but we hope it will really make a difference in peoples lives," principal investigator Burgess Howell of NASAs Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., told the Earth Observatory. "For example, if an earthen dam gives way in Bhutan, we want to be able to show officials where the bridge is out or where a road is washed out or a power substation is inundated. This kind of information is critical to focus and speed rescue efforts."

Controlled from Marshall, NASA scientists will use positioning software to map exactly where the space station is flying to target and photograph points of interest on the surface of the Earth.

"If there's a good viewing opportunity, the SERVIR team will instruct the camera to take high-resolution photographs at 3 to 7 frames per second, totaling as many as 100 images per pass," reported the Earth Observatory. "With a resolution down to 10 feet (3.2 m) it will be possible to spot fairly small details and objects."

The camera isn't available for this kind of research just yet, however. Engineers are still working out ISERV's kinks before starting in on basic scientific work in a few months.

The International Space Station is about the size of a football field and was built by five different space agencies representing Canada, the United States, Russia, Europe and Japan. The orbiting science laboratory is currently home to Expedition 34's six international astronauts.

Follow Miriam Kramer @mirikramer and Google+. Follow OurAmazingPlanet @OAPlanet, Facebook and Google+.

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New Space Station Camera Snaps First Image of Earth

The next crew to launch toward the International Space Station will make the trip faster than any astronauts before them, thanks to a new docking plan being tested this month.

NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy and Russian cosmonauts Pavel Vinogradov and Alexander Misurkin are set to launch to the space station March 28 at4:43 p.m. EDT (2043 GMT) aboard a Russian Soyuz capsule. While it normally takes Soyuz vehicles two days to reach the orbiting laboratory after launch, Cassidy, Vinogradov and Misurkin will make the trip in just six hours.

"I think it's much more interesting when you fly faster," Vinogradov said during a press conference at the crew's Star City, Russia training site. "It's just like in a train," he added, saying he preferred to make quick train trips rather than spend many hours traveling.

Vinogradov and his crew are performing their final mission training for the Soyuz launch from the Central Asian spaceport of Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, where the local time will be March 29 at liftoff. The six-hour journey will include just four orbits of Earth, officials said.

The new travel scheme has been previously successfully tested with unmanned Russian Progress cargo ships, but never before with manned spacecraft. Officials say the time has come to speed up travel to the space station because spacecraft have become more automated, so the strain on ground-based Mission Control teams isn't so great.

"Now we have onboard a new machinery and new software so the vehicle is more autonomous right now, so it is the possibility to do a lot onboard the vehicle and to calculate the burns so they are not consuming a lot of fuel," said veteran cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev, vice president of Russia's RSC Energia spaceflight company in charge of manned spaceflights.

The three new space station crewmembers will join an existing crew trio to complete the Expedition 35 crew aboard the International Space Station. When that mission changes over to Expedition 36 in May, Vinogradov will take over as commander of the station.

Cassidy and Vinogradov are veteran spaceflyers, but Misurkin will be making his first trip to orbit. The three will spend about six months in space, returning to Earth in September.

"I think it should be the most exciting trip in my life," Misurkin said.

Follow Clara Moskowitz @ClaraMoskowitz and Google+. Follow us@Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article onSPACE.com.

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US-Russian Crew Launching to Space Station in Record Time

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - A SpaceX Dragon cargo capsule overcame a potentially mission-ending technical problem to make a belated but welcome arrival at the International Space Station on Sunday.

Astronauts aboard the outpost used the station's robotic arm to pluck the capsule from orbit at 5:31 a.m. EST as the ships sailed 250 miles over northern Ukraine.

Flight controllers at NASA's Mission Control in Houston then stepped in to drive the capsule to its berthing port on the station's Harmony connecting node. Docking occurred at 8:44 a.m. EST.

The Dragon capsule, loaded with more than 2,300 pounds (1,043 kg) of science equipment, spare parts, food and supplies, blasted off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on Friday aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket for the second of 12 planned supply runs for NASA.

SpaceX is the first private company to fly to the station, a $100 billion project of 15 nations.

Dragon was to have arrived at the station on Saturday but a problem with its thruster rocket pods developed soon after reaching orbit. Engineers sent commands for Dragon to flip valves and clear any blockage in a pressurization line in an attempt to salvage the mission.

By Friday evening, Dragon had fired its thruster rockets to raise its altitude and begin steering itself to rendezvous with the station.

The orbital ballet ended when station commander Kevin Ford, working from a robotics station inside the outpost, grabbed the capsule with the station's robot arm.

"As they say, it's not where you start but where you finish that counts. You guys really finished this one on the mark," Ford radioed to Dragon's flight control team in Hawthorne, California, and NASA's Mission Control in Houston.

"What a fantastic day," Ford said.

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SpaceX cargo capsule reaches International Space Station

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla., March 2 - A cargo capsule owned by Space Exploration Technologies was cleared for a belated docking at the International Space Station on Sunday after engineers resolved a problem with the spacecraft's thruster pods, NASA said on Saturday.

The Dragon spacecraft, built and operated by privately owned Space Exploration Technologies, or SpaceX, missed its scheduled arrival on Saturday after problems surfaced with three of its four thruster rocket pods shortly after launch on Friday.

NASA flight rules require at least three pods to be operational before the craft would be cleared to approach the station, a $100 billion, permanently staffed research outpost that circles about 250 miles above the Earth.

The capsule was launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Florida's Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on the second of 12 planned cargo runs to the station for NASA. After reaching orbit, the capsule ran into a problem starting its thruster systems.

Preliminary analysis showed a blockage in the pressurization system or a stuck valve was responsible, SpaceX founder and chief executive Elon Musk told reporters in a conference call Friday afternoon.

Engineers later resolved the problem by testing the valves and "pressure hammering" the lines. The troubleshooting worked, and Dragon fired its thrusters Friday evening to raise its altitude. Since then, the capsule has been tweaking its orbit to catch up with the station.

"Dragon's propulsion system is operating normally along with its other systems and ready to support the rendezvous," NASA wrote in a statement.

"SpaceX said it has high confidence there will be no repeat of the thruster problem during rendezvous, including its capability to perform an abort, should that be required," the U.S. space agency said.

The capsule carries more than 2,300 pounds (1,043 kg) of science equipment, spare parts, food and supplies for the six-member station crew.

Dragon is expected to come within reach of the station's robot arm so astronauts aboard the outpost can latch on to a grapple fixture at 6:01 EST (1101 GMT) Sunday and berth the capsule at a docking port.

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SpaceX cargo capsule cleared for Space Station docking on Sunday

NASA / SpaceX via Twitter

A video view from the International Space Station shows SpaceX's Dragon cargo capsule in the grip of the station's robotic arm, with Earth below.

By Alan Boyle, Science Editor, NBC News

Astronauts used the International Space Station's robotic arm to grab SpaceX's Dragon capsule on Sunday after the unmanned spacecraft made a dramatic recovery in orbit. The grapple operation reached its successful climax an hour ahead of schedule,proving that the unmanned capsule had fully recovered from a post-launch glitchthat affected its propulsion system.

NASA and California-based SpaceX decided to go ahead with Sunday's rendezvous after the Dragon made a series of orbital maneuvers that demonstrated the craft's thrusters were operating normally. When the Dragon closed in to a distance of 33 feet (10 meters), the Canadian-built robotic arm reached out and latched onto an attachment on the cargo ship.

The robotic-arm grapple was originally scheduled to take place at 6:31 a.m. ET, but it occurred instead at 5:31 a.m., as the station was flying 253 miles (407 kilometers) over Ukraine.

NASA's Mission Control and the space station's astronauts exchanged congratulations. "That was a brilliant capture," NASA astronaut Kate Rubins told space station commander Kevin Ford from Mission Control.

Ford passed along his thanks to NASA's controllers in Houston as well as to SpaceX's mission control at the company's headquarters in Hawthorne, Calif. "It's not where you start, but where you finish that counts, and you guys really finished this one on the mark,"Ford said. "You're aboard, and we've got lots of science on there to bring aboard and get done. So congratulations to all of you."

As the crew watched, the robotic arm's remote operators in Houston issued commands to pull the Dragon in for a hookup with the station's Harmony module. "The Dragon is ours!" Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield wrote in a Twitter update. "Maneuvering it now on Canadarm2 to docking port, will open hatches. Look forward to new smells."

The capsule was berthed at 8:56 a.m. ET, and within a few hours, the station's astronauts hooked up the electrical connections, opened up the hatch from the Harmony module and took their first look inside the Dragon.

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Space station grabs Dragon cargo craft

A privately built robotic cargo ship has been cleared to link up with the International Space Station early Sunday (March 3) after a review by its builders and NASA. The cargo ship's arrival will be one day later than planned due to a thruster issue, since fixed, that cropped up shortly after its Friday launch.

The unmanned Dragon space capsule, built by the SpaceX spaceflight company, is on track to be captured by the space station's robotic arm at 6:01 a.m. EST (1101 GMT) and attached to an open docking port shortly afterward. The cargo ship is hauling 1,200 pounds (544 kilograms) of food, experiments and other supplies for the station's six-man crew.

"Just received #Dragon docking clearance from @NASA," SpaceX CEO and founder Elon Musk wrote in a Twitter post today. "Will begin orbital maneuvers to Space Station at 11pm Pacific time."

NASA will broadcast live views of the Dragon rendezvous at the space station beginning at 3 a.m. EST (0800 GMT).

You can watch NASA's SpaceX Dragon docking webcast on SPACE.com courtesy of NASA TV.

Stargazers in the Southern Hemisphere also have a chance to see the Dragon spacecraft in the night sky tonight as it chases the space station. The two spacecraft will appear as fast-moving lights in the sky to observers who know when and where to look. [How to spot Dragon in the night sky]

SpaceX's Dragon space capsule mission is the company's third flight to the International Space Station and second official resupply flight for NASA under a $1.6 billion cargo delivery contract. In all, SpaceX plans to launch 12 missions to the space station under the deal.

The mission hit an unexpected snag shortly after the Dragon capsule launched into space atop its SpaceX-built Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. After separating from the rocket, three of the spacecraft's four thruster pods did not activate as planned. NASA requires at least three functioning thruster pods on the Dragon capsule in order to allow a docking attempt. [See video of SpaceX's Dragon and Falcon 9 launch]

After several hours of troubleshooting, SpaceX officials solved the thruster problem and activated all four thruster pods, but the time required for the fix forced the Dragon to miss its planned Saturday morning docking at the space station.

Now, with all 18 Draco thrusters on the Dragon's four thruster pods working, SpaceX is ready to attempt the rendezvous.

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SpaceX Dragon Capsule Cleared for Space Station Docking Sunday

A privately built robot cargo ship has been cleared to link up with the International Space Station early Sunday (March 3) after a review by its builders and NASA. The cargo ship's arrival will be one day later than planned due to a thruster issue, since fixed, that cropped up shortly after its Friday launch.

The unmanned Dragon space capsule, built by the SpaceX spaceflight company, is on track to be captured by the space station's robotic arm at 6:01 a.m. EST (1101 GMT) and attached to an open docking port shortly afterward. The cargo ship is hauling 1,200 pounds (544 kilograms) of food, experiments and other supplies for the station's six-man crew.

"Just received #Dragon docking clearance from @NASA," SpaceX CEO and founder Elon Musk wrote in a Twitter post today. "Will begin orbital maneuvers to Space Station at 11pm Pacific time."

NASA will broadcast live views of the Dragon rendezvous at the space station beginning at 3 a.m. EST (0800 GMT).

You can watch NASA's SpaceX Dragon docking webcast on SPACE.com courtesy of NASA TV.

Stargazers in the Southern Hemisphere also have a chance to see the Dragon spacecraft in the night sky tonight as it chases the space station. The two spacecraft will appear as fast-moving lights in the sky to observers who know when and where to look. [How to spot Dragon in the night sky]

SpaceX's Dragon space capsule mission is the company's third flight to the International Space Station and second official resupply flight for NASA under a $1.6 billion cargo delivery contract. In all, SpaceX plans to launch 12 missions to the space station under the deal.

The mission hit an unexpected snag shortly after the Dragon capsule launched into space atop its SpaceX-built Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. After separating from the rocket, three of the spacecraft's four thruster pods did not activate as planned. NASA requires at least three functioning thruster pods on the Dragon capsule in order to allow a docking attempt. [See video of SpaceX's Dragon and Falcon 9 launch]

After several hours of troubleshooting, SpaceX officials solved the thruster problem and activated all four thruster pods, but the time required for the fix forced the Dragon to miss its planned Saturday morning docking at the space station.

Now, with all 18 Draco thrusters on the Dragon's four thruster pods working, SpaceX is ready to attempt the rendezvous.

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SpaceX Dragon Capsule Cleared Space Station Docking Sunday

A privately built robotic space capsule filled with supplies for the International Space Station successfully arrived at the orbiting laboratory early Sunday (March 3), one day later than planned due to a temporary thruster glitch.

The unmanned Dragon cargo capsule, built by the private spaceflight company SpaceX, was captured by astronauts wielding the space station's robotic arm at 5:31 a.m. EST (1031 GMT) as both spacecraft sailed 243 miles (391 kilometers) above Northern Ukraine.

"Congratulations to the SpaceX and the Dragon team in Houston and in California," space station commander Kevin Ford, a NASA astronaut, radioed Mission Control after the successful Dragon arrival. "They say it is not where you start, but where you finish that counts and you guys really finished this one on the mark. You're aboard and we've got lots of science on there to bring aboard and get done."

SpaceX launched the Dragon capsule toward the space station on Friday (March 1), with the spacecraft riding the company's Falcon 9 rocket into orbit. While the launch was smooth, the Dragon capsule ran into trouble after it separated from the Falcon 9 rocket when three of four thruster pods did not activate as planned.

After several hours of troubleshooting, SpaceX engineers isolated the glitch to a pressurization problem in the thruster system and devised a fix that solved the problem. Because of the time needed for the fix, the Dragon capsule missed its initial rendezvous slated for Saturday (March 2). [See photos of the Dragon's space station arrival]

The spacecraft's arrival on Sunday, however, appeared to go extremely smoothly, with the capsule being captured by the station's robotic arm an hour earlier than scheduled.

"That was a brilliant capture," NASA astronaut Kate Rubins radioed the station crew from Mission Control in Houston.

The Dragon space capsule is packed with 1,200 pounds (544 kilograms) for the International Space Station, a haul that includes fresh food, science experiments and other vital equipment. The capsule is also carrying two grapple bars for the station's exterior inside an unpressurized "trunk" a storage compartment in a cylindrical section of the spacecraft below its re-entry capsule.

This mission is SpaceX's third flight to the space station and second official cargo delivery under a $1.6 billion deal with NASA for resupply flights. Under that contract, the Hawthorne, Calif.-based SpaceX has agreed to provide at least 12 Dragon supply flights to the space station.

SpaceX launched its first Dragon to the space station last May during a demonstration flight, and followed that success with an official cargo delivery in October.

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SpaceX Dragon Cargo Capsule Arrives at Space Station

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) A private Earth-to-orbit delivery service made good on its latest shipment to the International Space Station on Sunday, overcoming mechanical difficulty and delivering a ton of supplies with high-flying finesse.

To NASA's relief, the SpaceX company's Dragon capsule pulled up to the orbiting lab with all of its systems in perfect order. Station astronauts used a hefty robot arm to snare the unmanned Dragon, and three hours later, it was bolted into place.

The Dragon's arrival couldn't have been sweeter and not because of the fresh fruit on board for the six-man station crew. Coming a full day late, the 250-mile-high linkup above Ukraine culminated a two-day chase that got off to a shaky, almost dead-ending start.

Moments after the Dragon reached orbit Friday, a clogged pressure line or stuck valve prevented the timely release of the solar panels and the crucial firing of small maneuvering rockets. SpaceX flight controllers struggled for several hours before gaining control of the capsule and salvaging the mission.

"As they say, it's not where you start, but where you finish that counts," space station commander Kevin Ford said after capturing the Dragon, "and you guys really finished this one on the mark."

He added: "We've got lots of science on there to bring aboard and get done. So congratulations to all of you."

Among the items on board: 640 seeds of a flowering weed used for research, mouse stem cells, food and clothes for the six men on board the space station, trash bags, computer equipment, air purifiers, spacewalking tools and batteries. The company also tucked away apples and other fresh treats from an employee's family orchard.

The Dragon will remain at the space station for most of March before returning to Earth with science samples, empty food containers and old equipment.

The California-based SpaceX run by billionaire Elon Musk has a $1.6 billion contract with NASA to keep the station well stocked. The contract calls for 12 supply runs; this was the second in that series.

This is the third time, however, that a Dragon has visited the space station. The previous capsules had no trouble reaching their destination. Company officials promise a thorough investigation into what went wrong this time; if the maneuvering thrusters had not been activated, the capsule would have been lost.

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Tamed Dragon supply ship arrives at space station

An unmanned commercial space capsule packed with precious cargo successfully linked up with the International Space Station early Sunday (March 3), making a flawless orbital delivery after overcoming a thruster glitch that delayed its arrival by a day.

The SpaceX-builtDragon cargo capsule docked with the space stationat 8:56 a.m. EST (1356) as the two spacecraft soared 253 miles (407 kilometers) over the Arabian Sea. NASA flight controllers performed the orbital link-up remotely by commanding the space station's Canadian-built robotic arm, which had latched onto Dragon three hours earlier, to attach the capsule to an available docking port.

"The Dragon is ours! Maneuvering it now on Canadarm2 to a docking port, will open hatches once secure," station astronaut Chris Hadfield of Canada wrote in a Twitter post. "Look forward to new smells. Great!" [See photos of the Dragon's space station arrival]

Dragon reached the space station at 5:31 a.m. EST (1031 GMT), a full hour ahead of schedule. Two NASA astronauts, station commander Kevin Ford and flight engineer Thomas Marshburn, used the station's arm to grapple the capsule as it approached close to the orbiting lab.

SpaceX (short for Space Exploration Technologies) launched the Dragon capsule toward the space station on Friday (March 1), with the spacecraft riding the company's Falcon 9 rocket into orbit. While the launch was smooth, theDragon capsule ran into troubleafter it separated from the Falcon 9 rocket when three of four thruster pods did not activate as planned.

After several hours of troubleshooting, SpaceX engineers isolated the glitch to a pressurization problem in the thruster system and devised a fix that solved the problem. Because of the time needed for the fix, the Dragon capsule missed its initial rendezvous slated for Saturday (March 2).

The spacecraft's arrival on Sunday, however, went extremely smoothly. About four hours after the capsule was berthed to space station, astronauts opened the hatches between the two spacecraft to enter the Dragon, NASA officials said.

"Happy Berth Day, Dragon," SpaceX officials wrote in a Twitter post. The same message was emblazoned on the company's website.

"In solving the issues facing Dragon post-insertion, the team at SpaceX exhibited the ingenious engineering tenacity that has become a NASA hallmark, and further demonstrated the industry's readiness to perform the critical task of cargo delivery to low Earth orbit," Michael Lopez-Alegria, a former NASA astronaut and station commander who is now president of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, said in a statement. "Congratulations to SpaceX and NASA for the successful berthing of Dragon this morning; I look forward to seeing Dragon back on Earth."

Precious cargo for space station

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SpaceX Dragon Cargo Ship Docks at Space Station

NASA / SpaceX via Twitter

A video view from the International Space Station shows SpaceX's Dragon cargo capsule in the grip of the station's robotic arm, with Earth below.

By Alan Boyle, Science Editor, NBC News

Astronauts used the International Space Station's robotic arm to grab SpaceX's Dragon capsule on Sunday after the unmanned spacecraft made a dramatic recovery in orbit. The grapple operation reached its successful climax an hour ahead of schedule,proving that the unmanned capsule had fully recovered from a post-launch glitchthat affected its propulsion system.

NASA and California-based SpaceX decided to go ahead with Sunday's rendezvous after the Dragon made a series of orbital maneuvers that demonstrated the craft's thrusters were operating normally. When the Dragon closed in to a distance of 33 feet (10 meters), the Canadian-built robotic arm reached out and latched onto an attachment on the cargo ship.

The robotic-arm grapple was originally scheduled to take place at 6:31 a.m. ET, but it occurred instead at 5:31 a.m., as the station was flying 253 miles (407 kilometers) over Ukraine.

NASA's Mission Control and the space station's astronauts exchanged congratulations. "That was a brilliant capture," NASA astronaut Kate Rubins told space station commander Kevin Ford from Mission Control.

Ford passed along his thanks to NASA's controllers in Houston as well as to SpaceX's mission control at the company's headquarters in Hawthorne, Calif. "It's not where you start, but where you finish that counts, and you guys really finished this one on the mark,"Ford said. "You're aboard, and we've got lots of science on there to bring aboard and get done. So congratulations to all of you."

As the crew watched, the robotic arm's remote operators in Houston issued commands to pull the Dragon in for a hookup with the station's Harmony module. "The Dragon is ours!" Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield wrote in a Twitter update. "Maneuvering it now on Canadarm2 to docking port, will open hatches. Look forward to new smells."

The capsule was berthed at 8:56 a.m. ET, and within a few hours, the station's astronauts hooked up the electrical connections, opened up the hatch from the Harmony module and took their first look inside the Dragon.

Link:

Space station grabs Dragon

Friday's launch represents the second formal resupply flight that SpaceX has undertaken under a $1.6 billion contract with NASA to ferry goods to and from the International Space Station.

A US cargo mission to the International Space Station has been placed safely on orbit, and after several hours of trouble-shooting, engineers appear to have gotten on top of a problem that could have put the rest of the mission in doubt.

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At 10:10 a.m., Eastern time, a Falcon 9 rocket and its Dragon cargo capsule launched from its pad at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

Built and operated by Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) in Hawthorne, Calif., the Falcon 9's launch appeared to go flawlessly a welcome sign after one of the first stage's nine motors shut down prematurely during the company's first commercial launch last October.

The rocket delivered Dragon to its proper orbit, as planned. But shortly after the Dragon capsule separated from the rocket's second stage Friday morning, mission controllers reported that the flight-control system had prevented three of the capsule's four thruster pods from activating. The thrusters allow controllers to adjust the capsule's orbit, maneuver at the space station, and slow and orient the capsule properly for reentry.

The problem appears to have been traced to a balky oxidizer valve or clogged line. Initially, only one pod was functional. The craft needs at least two to put it on a trajectory to reach the space station.

By late afternoon, Elon Musk, the company's founder and chief technology officer, said that all four pods were working and that controllers were preparing to raise Dragon's orbit as it heads for the space station.

Initially, plans called for a rendezvous Saturday morning at 6:30, Eastern time. Now, that has been postponed, although NASA and SpaceX officials say the capsule could reach the station Sunday.

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SpaceX capsule hitch puts mission to space station in doubt

This story was updated at 5:10 p.m. ET.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. The private spaceflight company SpaceX says it has restored vital thrusters on its robotic Dragon space capsule in orbit, but the hours of last-minute scrambling to fix the problem mean the cargo ship must delay its arrival at the International Space Station.

SpaceX and NASA officials say a hardware glitch, which occurred after theDragon spacecraft's launchatop a Falcon 9 rocket early Friday (March 1), prevented the spacecraft from performing vital maneuvers to put it on course for the space station. The spacecraft is hauling nearly a ton of cargo and support equipment to the space station for NASA and was expected to arrive on Saturday. That delivery, however, is delayed for at least a day, and possibly longer, SpaceX officials said.

"It's a bit too early for timing," SpaceX's billionaire founder and CEO Elon Musk told reporters in a teleconference after the launch. "We're definitely not going to rush it."

The Falcon 9 rocket launched on time at 10:10 a.m. ET (1510 GMT) from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, but once the Dragon capsule separated from the booster, the problem arose.

Three of the four thruster pods on theDragon space capsulerequired to propel the spacecraft to the space station did not activate properly after today's launch, according to officials at SpaceX. A blockage in a line that helps pressurize the thrusters caused a malfunction before the solar arrays the pieces of machinery responsible for powering Dragon to the station could deploy. [Photos: SpaceX's Dragon Launch to Space Station]

The launch today is the second of 12 flights to the space station planned for Dragon. SpaceX was awarded a $1.6 billion contract with NASA to fund these trips. Orbital Science Corp., another private spaceflight organization, was contracted for nine supply trips to the station as well.

Dragon thrusters back online

Friday afternoon, Musk explained that after hours of troubleshooting, the four thruster pods are back online and the solar arrays are tracking, powering the capsule according to NASA officials.

"There's no leakage or anything like that," Musk said. "There's no debris or fluid or gas leakage that we're aware of. All systems seem to be intact and functioning quite well that we're aware of."

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SpaceX Dragon Capsule Problem Stalls Cargo Trip to Space Station

SpaceX launched an unmanned rocket with capsule to ferry supplies to space station. Once in orbit, some of the capsule's thrusters wouldn't work.

On an overcast morning, SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket launched from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station and sped through the clouds Friday on its way to the International Space Station.

However, about 12 minutes into the NASA resupply mission, after the rocket had lifted its Dragon capsule packed with more than 1,200 pounds of cargo into orbit, there was an anomaly in the spacecraft.

"It appears that although it reached Earth orbit, Dragon is experiencing some type of problem right now," John Insprucker, Falcon 9 product director, told viewers on SpaceX's live webcast. "We'll have to learn the nature of what happened."

PHOTOS: A 'new era': Private-sector space mission

The live webcast was then shut down.

Elon Musk, SpaceX founder and chief executive, took to Twitter to describe the problem: "Issue with Dragon thruster pods. System inhibiting three of four from initializing. About to command inhibit override."

The company later issued a statement about the thrusters, which are crucial to the spacecraft successfully reaching the space station:

"One thruster pod is running. Two are preferred to take the next step which is to deploy the solar arrays. We are working to bring up the other two in order to plan the next series of burns to get to station."

The Hawthorne company's craft blasted off at 7:10 a.m. PST. The plan was that Dragon would reach and attach to the space station on Saturday, but it's unclear how the thruster issue will affect that.

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SpaceX launches to space station, but experiences problem in orbit

A thruster problem on the robotic Dragon space capsule launched by the private spaceflight company SpaceX on Friday (March 1) has engineers scrambling to identify the cause, forcing a delay in the spacecraft's arrival at the International Space Station by at least a day.

SpaceX and NASA officials say the thruster glitch, which occurred after the Dragon spacecraft's launch atop a Falcon 9 rocket today, prevented the spacecraft from performing vital maneuvers to put it on course for the International Space Station. The spacecraft is hauling nearly a ton of cargo and support equipment to the space station for NASA.

The Falcon 9 rocket launched on time at 10:10 a.m. ET (1510 GMT) from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, but once the Dragon capsule separated from the booster, the problem became apparent.

Three of the four thruster pods on the Dragon space capsule required to propel the spacecraft to the space station did not activate properly after today's launch, according to officials at SpaceX. An issue with one of the capsule's propellant valves caused the thrusters to malfunction before the solar arrays the pieces of machinery responsible for powering Dragon to the station could deploy. [Photos: SpaceX's Dragon Launch to Space Station]

Friday afternoon, SpaceX founder Elon Musk announced that after some troubleshooting, ground controllers were able to activate one of the inactive thruster pods.

"Pods 1 and 4 now online and thrusters engaged," Musk wrote in a Twitter post. "Dragon transitioned from free drift to active control. Yes!!"

Engineers on the ground decided to extend the two solar arrays in spite of the less-than-ideal conditions. The solar panels were deployed when the capsule was upside down, preventing them from performing their intended function, according to press reports.

According to NASA officials, three thrusters need to be in working order before the craft can dock with the space station. Two will get the capsule within the vicinity of the orbiting science laboratory, but unless three thrusters are proved to be functioning, it cannot attach to the station.

This is the first time SpaceX has experienced problems with a Dragon spacecraft in orbit, but not the first glitch on a mission by the company.

During an October 2012 cargo launch to the International Space Station, one of the nine Merlin engines on the Falcon 9 rocket shut down during launch. The engine shutdown did not affect the delivery of Dragon to the station, but it did prevent the mission's secondary payload from being deployed in its proper orbit.

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SpaceX Dragon Capsule Problem Stalls Space Station Cargo Delivery

LOW EARTH ORBIT A commercial vessel carrying a ton of supplies for the International Space Station ran into thruster trouble shortly after liftoff Friday and will miss its docking date, despite a day spent scrambling by flight controllers to fix the problem.

In a press conference Friday afternoon, SpaceX founder Elon Musk said the company had resolved issues that prevented three of the four sets of thrusters on the company's unmanned Dragon capsule from kicking in, delaying the release of solar panels -- and ultimately preventing the vehicle from making its planned docking date.

Dragon's twin solar wings swung opened two hours later than planned as SpaceX worked to bring up the idled thrusters, which Musk said should happen shortly.

Weve been deeply engaged in trying to find out what went wrong with the Dragon thruster system, Musk said over the phone from SpaceX mission control in California. "Im optimistic that well be able to turn all four thruster pods on and restore full control soon, he added.

The Dragon is equipped with 18 thrusters, divided into four sets, and can maneuver adequately even with some unavailable. The thruster issues caused SpaceX to miss its scheduled rendezvous.

Fortunately, we have quite a bit of flexibility in our birthing date, explained Michael Suffredini, International Space Station program manager. Musk noted that the capsule could orbit safely for up to a month before docking, if needed. And because the cargo is largely scientific, a delay won't put the station crew in any jeopardy.

The problem cropped up following Dragon's separation from the rocket upper stage, nine minutes into the flight. The liftoff was right on time and appeared to go flawlessly; the previous Falcon launch in October suffered a single engine failure that resulted in the loss of a communications satellite that was hitching a ride on the rocket.

This is the first major trouble to strike a Dragon in orbit. Two similar capsules, launched last year, had no problem getting to the orbiting lab.

It was a little frightening there, Musk admitted, stressing that the Falcon rocket performed perfectly despite the minor troubles with the Dragon capsule. More than 1 ton of space station supplies are aboard the cargo craft, including some much-needed equipment for air purifiers.

SpaceX has a $1.6 billion contract with NASA for 12 deliveries to restock the space station, and hopes the venture will lead to transporting astronauts there in a few years. A company-sponsored demo mission kicked everything off last May.

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SpaceX Dragon capsule to miss berthing date at space station after thruster issue

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - A rocket built by Space Exploration Technologies blasted off on Friday on supply run to the International Space Station, but a thruster problem with the cargo ship threatened to derail the mission.

The 157-foot (48-meter) tall Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon cargo ship lifted off at 10:10 a.m. EST from the company's leased launch pad at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, just south of NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

"It appears that although it achieved Earth orbit, Dragon is experiencing some kind of problem right now," John Insprucker, a Falcon 9 manager with Space Exploration Technologies, or SpaceX as the company is known, said during a webcast after the capsule's release into orbit.

The Dragon capsule, which carries more than 2,300 pounds (1,043 kg) of science equipment, spare parts, food and supplies, is scheduled to reach the station Saturday morning.

Engineers, however, were troubleshooting a problem with three of the capsule's four thruster pods, which are needed to maneuver in orbit and position the ship's solar arrays to face the sun.

"Holding on solar array deployment until at least two thruster pods are active," company founder and Chief Executive Elon Musk posted on Twitter.

The arrays were later deployed even though three of the four thruster pods were not operational, said SpaceX spokeswoman Christine Ra.

The glitch occurred about 11 minutes after liftoff, when the capsule's solar wings were to unfurl. SpaceX's onboard cameras did not show that happening.

The cargo run is the second of 12 missions for privately owned SpaceX under a $1.6 billion NASA contract.

Following a successful test flight to the space station in May 2012, SpaceX conducted its first supply run to the orbital outpost in October. During launch of that mission, one of the Falcon's nine engines shut down early, but the other motors compensated for the power shortfall.

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SpaceX capsule hits glitch after launch for space station

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) A commercial craft carrying a ton of supplies for the International Space Station ran into thruster trouble shortly after liftoff Friday. Flight controllers managed to gain control, but were forced to delay its arrival at the orbiting lab.

The earliest the Dragon capsule could show up is Sunday, a full day late, said top officials for NASA and the private company SpaceX.

"We're definitely not going to rush it," said SpaceX's billionaire founder Elon Musk. "We want to make sure first and foremost that things are safe before proceeding."

The Dragon, owned and operated by SpaceX, holds considerable science experiments for the International Space Station as well as food and spare parts.

Musk said six hours into the flight that all four sets of thrusters finally were working properly. "All systems green," he reported via Twitter. The problem might have been caused by a stuck valve or line blockage. The thrusters are small rockets used for maneuvering the capsule.

It is the first serious trouble to strike a Dragon in orbit. None of the three previous flights had any signs of thruster issues, Musk told reporters by phone from company headquarters in Hawthorne, Calif.

He said it appeared to be a glitch versus a major concern.

NASA space station program manager Mike Suffredini said at least three groups of thrusters on the Dragon need to work before the capsule can come close to the complex. That's a safety rule that will not be waived, Suffredini said.

Engineers for both SpaceX and NASA plan an exhaustive study before allowing the rendezvous to take place. The Dragon could hang around at least a month before linking up with the station, Musk said. It's supposed to spend more than three weeks there.

A crucial maneuver needed to be made quickly, however, to raise the orbit and keep the capsule from plunging down through the atmosphere. Musk promised in a tweet that was forthcoming.

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Space station capsule problem appears fixed