SpaceX's robotic Dragon cargo ship is slated to arrive at the International Space Station early this morning (Oct. 10) for a nearly three-week stay.

The Dragon spacecraft has been chasing down the huge orbiting lab since launching Sunday night (Oct. 7) atop SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket. If all goes according to plan, the unmanned capsule will approach the station in a series of cautious steps early today, then finally be snagged by its huge robotic arm at 7:17 a.m. EDT (1117 GMT).

NASA will broadcast the action live on NASA TV and online. You can watch the Dragon docking webcast live here beginning at 4 a.m. EDT (0800 GMT).

Dragon will have to pass a series of "go/no go" tests this morning, beginning at 5:13 a.m. EDT (0913 GMT), as it sidles up to the station. The aim is to assure SpaceX and NASA engineers that it's operating nominally during approach and poses no threat to the $100 billion orbiting lab or its three current residents. [Video: Dragon Launches Toward Space Station]

If it passes all of these trials, NASA astronaut Sunita Williams and Japanese spaceflyer Akihiko Hoshide will grapple the capsule using the station's 58-foot (18 meters) robotic arm. They'll guide Dragon to the Earth-facing side of the orbiting lab's Harmony module, where it will be bolted in place for an 18-day stay.

Dragon is embarked on the first-ever bona fide cargo mission to the space station by a private vehicle. It's carrying 1,000 pounds (454 kilograms) of supplies and scientific experiments, and it will return to Earth on Oct. 28 with a different load of gear totaling about 2,000 pounds (907 kg).

Dragon's mission is the first of 12 unmanned supply runs California-based SpaceX will make to the station under a $1.6 billion contract with NASA. The space agency also inked a $1.9 billion deal with Virginia-based Orbital Sciences Corp. to fly eight cargo missions with its Antares rocket and Cygnus spacecraft.

The Dragon capsule has visited the station once before. This past May, it became the first private vehicle ever to dock with the 430-ton orbiting complex on a historic demonstration mission intended to show that SpaceX was ready to begin making its contracted flights.

Orbital Sciences, for its part, plans to test-fly the Antares rocket for the first time later this year.

With its venerable space shuttle fleet now retired, NASA is looking to private American vehicles to fly both cargo and crew to low-Earth orbit. The space agency hopes at least two different commercial spaceships are ready to carry crew by 2017; until then, the nation will be dependent on Russian Soyuz spacecraft to ferry its astronauts to the space station and back.

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SpaceX Dragon Capsule to Dock with Space Station Today

After a flawless final rendezvous, a commercial SpaceX cargo ship is captured by the International Space Station's robot arm and attached to a docking port for unloading.

The SpaceX Dragon cargo ship was captured by the International Space Station's robot arm early Wednesday after a smooth rendezvous. The astronauts operating the arm then attached the cargo craft to the forward Harmony module's Earth-facing docking port.

After getting off to a rocky start with an engine failure during launch Sunday, a commercial cargo capsule loaded with a half-ton of equipment and supplies -- including ice cream -- carried out a flawless final approach to the International Space Station early Wednesday, pulling up to within 60 feet so Japanese astronaut Akihiko Hoshide, operating the lab's robot arm, could pluck it out of open space for berthing.

Making the first of at least 12 cargo deliveries under a $1.6 billion contract with NASA, the SpaceX Dragon capsule, after a successful test flight last May, is the first commercially developed spacecraft to visit the station, the centerpiece of a push to restore U.S. resupply capability in the wake of the space shuttle's retirement last year.

Hoshide used the station's robot arm to latch onto a grapple fixture on the side of the Dragon capsule at 9:56 a.m. PT as the two spacecraft sailed 250 miles above the Pacific Ocean west of Baja California.

"Houston, station on (channel) two, capture complete," Expedition 33 commander Sunita Williams radioed. "Looks like we've tamed the dragon. We're happy she's on board with us. Thanks to everybody at SpaceX and NASA for bringing her here to us. And the ice cream."

Williams and Hoshide then maneuvered the Dragon capsule to the Earth-facing port of the forward Harmony module and locked it in place at 12:03 p.m., completing the rendezvous and berthing.

"The control center team here and the team out at Hawthorne (Calif.) at SpaceX just did a phenomenal job of making a pretty complex ballet in space look pretty easy," said Bill Gerstenmaier, NASA's director of space operations. "And it was not easy by any stretch of the imagination. But they just did a great job, and it's great to have the Dragon spacecraft on board the space station."

Space station commander Sunita Williams photographs the approaching Dragon cargo ship during its final approach to the lab complex Wednesday.

The long-awaited commercial cargo mission began with a spectacular launch Sunday night from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. But during the climb to space, one of the Falcon 9 booster's nine first-stage engines malfunctioned and shut down, forcing the flight computer to fire the other engines longer than planned to compensate for the shortfall.

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Dragon cargo ship captured, berthed to space station

A privately built robotic space capsule arrived at the International Space Station early Wednesday, making the first routine commercial cargo delivery to the orbiting lab under a billion-dollar deal with NASA.

The unmanned Dragon spacecraft was captured by station astronauts using the outpost's Canadian-built robotic arm after an apparently flawless approach by the cargo-laden space capsule, which was built by the private spaceflight company SpaceX. It is the first of 12 resupply flights SpaceX will fly for NASA under a $1.6 billion deal.

"Looks like we've tamed the Dragon," station commander Sunita Williams said as the spacecraft was grappled. "We're happy she's onboard with us. Thanks to everyone at SpaceX and NASA for bringing her to us and the ice cream."

The astronauts' chocolate-vanilla swirl ice cream, a rare treat for the space station crew, was a last-minute item packed along with the nearly 1,000 pounds (450 kilograms) of supplies riding up to the orbiting lab on the Dragon capsule. [Photos: SpaceX's Dragon Arrives at Space Station]

The SpaceX spacecraft was captured at 6:56 a.m. ET by Japanese astronaut Akihiko Hoshide as the space station soared 250 miles (402 kilometers) above the Pacific Ocean, just west of Baja California. The capsule was attached to an Earth-facing docking port on the station at 9:03 a.m. ET.

The Dragon's hatch was scheduled to be opened on Thursday but because the tasks associated with the hookup went so quickly, the astronauts opened the hatch early and got a sneak peek inside the Dragon on Wednesday.

SpaceX launched the Dragon spacecraft into orbit on Sunday atop the company's Falcon 9 rocket from its pad at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. It is expected to spend at least three weeks linked to the space station and be filled with nearly 2,000 pounds (900 kilograms) of blood samples, other experiments and station gear for the return trip to Earth.

"This is a big moment in the course of this mission and for commercial spaceflight," said SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, the billionaire entrepreneur who founded the company in 2002. "We are pleased that Dragon is now ready to deliver its cargo to the International Space Station."

SpaceX officials watched over the Dragon capsule's arrival from the company's mission control center in Hawthorne, Calif., while NASA monitored the orbital rendezvous from its station Mission Control at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. The spacecraft is expected to splash down in the Pacific Ocean near Southern California on Oct. 28.

The Dragon was a welcome sight for the space station's crew. "It's nice to see Dragon flying over the U.S.," Williams said during the space rendezvous.

Excerpt from:

Space station pulls in SpaceX cargo ship

For the second time in five months, the commercial rocket company SpaceX has successfully docked its Dragon capsule at the International Space Station (ISS)this time on its first official cargo run under a supply contract with NASA.

"Looks like we've tamed the Dragon," station commander Sunita Williams, a U.S. Navy officer, told controllers on the ground after the ISS's robotic arm had grabbed the unmanned craft just before 7 a.m. ET, accomplished with the assistance of Japanese astronaut Akihiko Hoshideh. (Related: "Robot Arm to Grab Robotic ShipA Space Station First.")

"We're happy she's on board with us."

SpaceX's Dragonthe first and only commercial spacecraft to berth at the stationmade contact with the station 252 miles (406 kilometers) above Earth. The capsule is packed with nearly a thousand pounds (450 kilograms) of essential supplies and gear, as well some arguably nonessential chocolate-vanilla swirl ice cream and, for a school science experiment, some Silly Putty.

High-flying SpaceX, founded by PayPal co-founder Elon Musk, won a nearly U.S. $1.6 billion contract with NASA in 2008 to supply the space station via a dozen flights in the years ahead.

Unlike any government-owned capsules supplying the ISS, the SpaceX Dragon is designed to return intact to Earth, and so can be used as a two-way ferry. The capsule brought back 1,300 pounds (590 kilograms) of science experiments and space hardware after its test berthing in May and will do the same later this month.

SpaceX Contract an Investment in the Future?

Today's first formal berthing at the International Space Station under the NASA cargo-supply contract was broadly cheered as a milestone, and perhaps a harbinger of much more to come.

"I think it would be fair to say the successful docking under the NASA contract is parallel to the early days of the commercial airline industry," said John Logsdon, space policy emeritus professor at George Washington University and longtime NASA adviser.

"The government paid airline owners to deliver the mail and gave the early industry the financial support it needed to grow," he said. "Clearly, NASA is hoping the same will happen herethat giving commercial space companies contracts to supply the space station will act as a huge boost to the early commercial space industry."

Continued here:

Space Station Arm "Tames" Dragon Capsule—SpaceX Docking Is a First

A privately built robotic spacecraft is doggedly chasing down the International Space Station and remains on track for an early-morning arrival Wednesday to deliver a half-ton of supplies.

The Dragon space capsule is making the first commercial cargo delivery to the space station for NASA under a billion-dollar deal with the private spaceflight company SpaceX, which launched the spacecraft from Florida atop its Falcon 9 rocket on Sunday night.

"The Dragon spacecraft continues to look great, and all systems are performing nominally," SpaceX officials said in a mission update Tuesday.

Space news from NBCNews.com

Science editor Alan Boyle's blog: NASA's Curiosity rover started digging into Martian sand, but the operation had to be put on hold when scientists spotted a mysterious bright object nearby.

The space capsule is expected to rendezvous with the International Space Station early Wednesday. Astronauts inside the station will use a robotic arm to capture the Dragon capsule and attach it to an open docking port so it can be emptied of the nearly 1,000 pounds (454 kilograms) of supplies and gear inside.

If all goes well, NASA astronaut Sunita Williams and Japanese astronaut Akihiko Hoshide will capture Dragon at 7:22 a.m. EDT (1122 GMT). NASA will broadcast the event live on NASA TV and online. You can watch the Dragon docking webcast live here beginning at 4 a.m. EDT (0800 GMT).

Satellite trackers also have one last chance to see Dragon in the night sky tonight before it docks at the space station. But you have to know when and where to look. For tips on spotting Dragon and the station as they fly overhead your location, see: " How to Spot SpaceX's Dragon in Night Sky."

The Hawthorne, Calif.-based SpaceX is one of two companies with commercial NASA contracts to launch unmanned cargo missions to the space station. SpaceX has a $1.6 billion deal for at least 12 Dragon cargo flights, while the Virginia-based Orbital Sciences Corp. has a $1.9 billion agreement to provide NASA at least eight delivery flights using its own Antares rockets and Cygnus spacecraft.

The current Dragon cargo flight is the first of the company's 12 contracted flights, though SpaceX did launch a test flight to the station in May. It is slated to return to Earth on Oct. 28 carrying about 2,000 pounds of scientific experiments and station gear. Orbital Sciences, meanwhile, is gearing up for its first Antares rocket test later this year.

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SpaceX capsule chasing space station in orbit

A privately built robotic spacecraft is doggedly chasing down the International Space Station and remains on track for an early-morning arrival Wednesday (Oct. 10) to deliver a half-ton of supplies.

The Dragon space capsule is making the first commercial cargo delivery to the space station for NASA under a billion-dollar deal with the private spaceflight company SpaceX, which launched the spacecraft from Florida atop its Falcon 9 rocket on Sunday night (Oct. 7).

"The Dragon spacecraft continues to look great, and all systems are performing nominally," SpaceX officials said in a mission update today (Oct. 9).

The space capsule is expected to rendezvous with the International Space Station early Wednesday. Astronauts inside the station will use a robotic arm to capture the Dragon capsule and attach it to an open docking port so it can be emptied of the nearly 1,000 pounds (454 kilograms) of supplies and gear inside.

If all goes well, NASA astronaut Sunita Williams and Japanese astronaut Akihiko Hoshide will capture Dragon at 7:22 a.m. EDT (1122 GMT). NASA will broadcast the event live on NASA TV and online. You can watch the Dragon docking webcast live here beginning at 4 a.m. EDT (0800 GMT).

Satellite trackers also have one last chance to see Dragon in the night sky tonight before it docks at the space station. But you have to know when and where to look. For tips on spotting Dragon and the station as they fly overhead your location, see: "How to Spot SpaceX's Dragon in Night Sky."

The Hawthorne, Calif.-based SpaceX is one of two companies with commercial NASA contracts to launch unmanned cargo missions to the space station. SpaceX has a $1.6 billion deal for at least 12 Dragon cargo flights, while the Virginia-based Orbital Sciences Corp. has a $1.9 billion agreement to provide NASA at least eight delivery flights using its own Antares rockets and Cygnus spacecraft.

The current Dragon cargo flight is the first of the company's 12 contracted flights, though SpaceX did launch a test flight to the station in May. It is slated to return to Earth on Oct. 28 carrying about 2,000 pounds (907 kg) of scientific experiments and station gear.Orbital Sciences, meanwhile, is gearing up for its first Antares rocket test later this year.

With NASA's space shuttle fleet retired, the space agency is depending on private space taxis for ferrying cargo and astronauts to the International Space Station. SpaceX, which is upgrading Dragon to carry crew, is one of four private spaceflight companies that have received funding from NASA to develop new manned spacecraft.

Visit SPACE.com this week for complete coverage of SpaceX's first Dragon cargo flight to the International Space Station.

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SpaceX Dragon Capsule Chasing Space Station in Orbit

07-10-2012 20:30 Liftoff of Falcon 9 and Dragon from Launch Complex 40 in Cape Canaveral, Fl. October 7, 2012.

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SpaceX CRS-1 Launch to International Space Station - Video

SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft was successfully launched Sunday, and by Wednesday morning the International Space Station crew should be greeting it with open arms.

NASA's Sunita Williams, ISS commander, and Japanese colleague Aki Hoshide will stretch out the station's robotic arm to install the Dragon on Wednesday at 4:22 a.m. (7:22 a.m. Eastern), according to NASA. The Dragon will be attached to the station for 18 days before heading back to Earth, splashing down in the Pacific off Southern California.

PHOTOS: Awesome images from space

SpaceX's billionaire CEO, Elon Musk, said: "We still have a lot of work to do... as we guide Dragon's approach to the space station. But the launch was an unqualified success."

Meanwhile, NASA is gearing up for another space-station first -- a yearlong mission by two astronauts that will give researchers a chance to better study the effects of extended time in space on the human body.

Earlier this month, the space agency and its international partners agreed to send one U.S. astronaut and one Russian cosmonaut on the yearlong expedition. The pair will travel in a Russian Soyuz spacecraft in a voyage to begin spring 2015.

SPACE QUIZ: Blue moons, meteors and more

There have been people aboard the space station for 12 years now, which has given researchers "valuable, often surprising" insight on how microgravity affects human bones and muscles, eyesight, strength and other physical factors, NASA says.

Now scientists want to know more, with the long-term goal of going farther and deeper into space.

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SpaceX hurtles toward space station as NASA dreams big

This story was updated at 10:46 p.m. ET.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. A privately built rocket lit up the night sky over Florida Sunday (Oct. 7) to kick off the first-ever cargo delivery trip to the International Space Station by a robotic, American-made spacecraft.

The unmanned Dragon space capsule, built by the commercial spaceflight firm SpaceX, roared into space atop the company's Falcon 9 rocket from a launch pad here at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, beginning a three-day flight to the space station. Liftoff occurred at 8:35 p.m. EDT (0035 Monday GMT).

The mission is the first of a dozen SpaceX cargo flights under a $1.6 billion deal with NASA for its Commercial Resupply Services program. This flight, being the first mission, is dubbed SpaceX CRS-1 and is expected to arrive at the orbiting lab on Wednesday morning (Oct. 7).

NASA space station program manager Mike Suffredini said Dragon's ability to launch supplies to the station and return cargo back to Earth is a cornerstone of boosting scientific research on the orbiting laboratory, as well as its day-to-day maintenance.

"Not to be overdramatic, but it's critical to the International Space Station,"Suffredini said during the countdown to launch. [Photos: Dragon Launches on 1st Space Station Cargo Trip]

Sunday night's launch was nearly flawless. One of the Falcon 9 rocket nine engines apparently shut down unexpectedly during the ascent, but the booster's eight other engines compensated for the glitch and delivered the Dragon spacecraft into its intended orbit, SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell said after the flight. The rocket is designed to do exactly that in the event of an engine anomaly, she added.

An American spaceship rises

When NASA retired its space shuttle fleet in 2011, it marked the first time in 30 years that the United States did not have an American spacecraft capable of flying missions to and from low-Earth orbit. NASA is relying on the availability of new private space taxis to deliver U.S. supplies, and ultimately astronauts, to the International Space Station.

Currently, the U.S. space agency depends on Russian Soyuz spacecraft to ferry crews to the station, and sends cargo on various robotic spacecraft operated by space agencies in Russia, Japan and Europe. But those unmanned space freighters are not designed to return science experiments and other station gear back to Earth. Instead, the spacecraft are disposed of in Earth's atmosphere by burning up during re-entry.

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Liftoff! SpaceX Dragon Launches 1st Private Space Station Cargo Mission

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - An unmanned, privately owned Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon cargo capsule blasted off from Cape Canaveral on Sunday on a mission to restore a U.S. supply line to the International Space Station after the retirement of the space shuttle.

Powered by nine oxygen and kerosene-burning engines, the 157-foot (48-meter) tall rocket, built by Space Exploration Technologies, lifted off from its seaside launch pad at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station at 8:35 p.m. EDT.

"This was a critical event for NASA and the nation tonight," said NASA Administrator Charles Bolden. "Just over a year after the retirement of the space shuttle, we have returned space station cargo-resupply missions to U.S. soil."

The Falcon booster, flying for the fourth time, streaked through balmy, partly cloudy skies as it headed east over the Atlantic Ocean toward the station's orbit, some 250 miles above Earth.

Despite a problem with one engine during the 10-minute climb to orbit, the capsule was delivered exactly where it was intended to go, company president Gwynne Shotwell told reporters.

"Falcon 9 was designed to lose engines and still make missions, so it did what it was supposed to do," Shotwell said. "We will learn from our flights and continue to improve the vehicle."

The capsule is scheduled to reach the $100-billion space station - a project of 15 nations - on Wednesday.

The company, also known as SpaceX, made a successful practice run to the station in May, clearing the way for it to begin working off a $1.6 billion, 12-flight contract to deliver cargo for NASA.

The Dragon cargo capsule carries about 882 pounds (400 kg) of food, clothing, science experiments and supplies for the station. The gear includes a freezer to transport medical samples and a rare treat for the station crew - chocolate vanilla swirl ice cream.

With the retirement of the space shuttles last year, NASA turned to the private sector to develop and fly freight to the station and is looking to do the same for crew transportation.

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SpaceX rocket blasts off for space station

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) -- A commercial cargo ship rocketed into orbit Sunday in pursuit of the International Space Station, the first of a dozen supply runs under a mega-contract with NASA.

It was the second launch of a Dragon capsule to the orbiting lab by the California-based SpaceX company. The first was last spring.

This time was no test flight, however, and the spacecraft carried 1,000 pounds of key science experiments and other precious gear on this truly operational mission. There was also a personal touch: chocolate-vanilla swirl ice cream tucked in a freezer for the three station residents.

The company's unmanned Falcon rocket roared into the night sky right on time, putting SpaceX on track to reach the space station Wednesday. The complex was soaring southwest of Tasmania when the Falcon took flight.

Officials declared the launch a success, despite a problem with one of the nine first-stage engines. The rocket put Dragon in its intended orbit, said the billionaire founder and chief executive officer of SpaceX, Elon Musk.

"It's driving its way to station, so that's just awesome," noted SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell.

In more good news, a piece of space junk was no longer threatening the station, and NASA could focus entirely on the delivery mission.

NASA is counting on private business to restock the space station, now that the shuttles have retired to museums. The space agency has a $1.6 billion contract with SpaceX for 12 resupply missions.

Especially exciting for NASA is the fact that the Dragon will return twice as much cargo as it took up, including a stockpile of astronauts' blood and urine samples. The samples nearly 500 of them have been stashed in freezers since Atlantis made the last shuttle flight in July 2011.

The Dragon will spend close to three weeks at the space station before being released and parachuting into the Pacific at the end of October. By then, the space station should be back up to a full crew of six.

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SpaceX Dragon capsule launched to space station

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) A privately owned rocket was poised to blast off Sunday night on the first of a dozen space station supply missions under a mega-contract with NASA.

It will be the second time that the California-based SpaceX company tries to launch a Dragon capsule to the International Space Station.

Last May, a test flight went well. Now the real work is about to begin under a $1.6 billion contract between NASA and SpaceX. This will be the first of 12 resupply missions under that contract.

"Are you ready to hear the (hash)Dragon roar!" SpaceX said in a Twitter update.

SpaceX raised the Falcon rocket, vertically, at its launch pad Sunday afternoon in advance of the 8:25 p.m. liftoff. Forecasters said there's a 40 percent chance that storm clouds or rain could interfere. The good news was that a piece of space junk was no longer threatening the orbiting lab, and NASA could focus entirely on the delivery mission.

NASA is counting on private business to restock the space station, now that the shuttles have retired to museums.

This newest Dragon will carry up about 1,000 pounds of food, clothes, experiments and equipment. The three space station residents will get a frozen treat when the capsule arrives later in the week: chocolate vanilla swirl ice cream.

Even more cargo will come back when the Dragon parachutes into the Pacific at the end of October.

None of the Russian, European or Japanese cargo ships can bring anything back; they're destroyed during re-entry.

Space Exploration Technologies Corp., or SpaceX owned by PayPal co-founder Elon Musk is working to convert its unmanned Dragon capsules into vessels that could carry astronauts to the space station in three years. Other U.S. companies also are vying to carry crews. Americans must ride Russian rockets to orbit in the meantime, for a steep price.

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SpaceX Dragon set to blast off to space station

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida A privately owned rocket was poised to blast off Sunday night on the first of a dozen space station supply missions under a mega-contract with NASA.

It will be the second time that the California-based SpaceX company tries to launch a Dragon capsule to the International Space Station.

Last May, a test flight went well. Now the real work is about to begin under a $1.6 billion contract between NASA and SpaceX. This will be the first of 12 resupply missions under that contract.

"Are you ready to hear the (hash)Dragon roar!" SpaceX said in a Twitter update.

SpaceX raised the Falcon rocket, vertically, at its launch pad Sunday afternoon in advance of the 8:25 p.m. liftoff. Forecasters said there's a 40 percent chance that storm clouds or rain could interfere. The good news was that a piece of space junk was no longer threatening the orbiting lab, and NASA could focus entirely on the delivery mission.

NASA is counting on private business to restock the space station, now that the shuttles have retired to museums.

This newest Dragon will carry up about 1,000 pounds of food, clothes, experiments and equipment. The three space station residents will get a frozen treat when the capsule arrives later in the week: chocolate vanilla swirl ice cream.

Even more cargo will come back when the Dragon parachutes into the Pacific at the end of October.

None of the Russian, European or Japanese cargo ships can bring anything back; they're destroyed during re-entry.

Space Exploration Technologies Corp., or SpaceX -- owned by PayPal co-founder Elon Musk -- is working to convert its unmanned Dragon capsules into vessels that could carry astronauts to the space station in three years. Other U.S. companies also are vying to carry crews. Americans must ride Russian rockets to orbit in the meantime, for a steep price.

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SpaceX to launch cargo ship for space station delivery

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

An unmanned private spacecraft all set to launch the first commercial delivery to the International Space Station tonight (Oct. 7), marking a major shift in how NASA sends supplies and gear to the orbiting lab.

The gumdrop-shaped Dragon space capsule built by the private spaceflight company SpaceX is poised to blast off from a pad at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida to begin a three-day voyage to the space station. SpaceX raised the Falcon 9 rocket that will boost the Dragon capsule spaceward into launch position this afternoon. Liftoff is set for 8:35 p.m. EDT (0035 Monday GMT) and the weather forecast looks favorable for launch, NASA officials said.

"Tomorrow's SpaceX launch begins a new era for spaceflight and the International Space Station," Sam Scimemi, NASA's space station director, said in a briefing Saturday (Oct. 6). "These flights are critical to the space station's sustainment and to help begin its full utilization."

SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft will launch nearly 1,000 pounds (453 kilograms) of cargo for astronauts living on the space station. The crew plans to welcome the spacecraft on Wednesday (Oct. 10) by grappling it with a robotic arm and attaching it to the station.

The mission is the first of at least 12 cargo runs for NASA that SpaceX will perform under a $1.6 billion deal to deliver 20 metric tons of supplies to the station for the U.S. space agency. [SpaceX's Dragon Poised to Sunday Launch (Photos)]

SpaceX is also working to upgrade the Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rockets to launch seven-astronaut crews into orbit. The spacecraft was designed from the start to enable future crewed flights, according to SpaceX's CEO Elon Musk, the billionaire entrepreneur who founded the company in 2002.

With NASA's space shuttle fleet retired, the space agency is depending on commercial spacecraft like SpaceX's Dragon capsules to ferry cargo and eventually astronauts into and from low-Earth orbit. The agency is outsourcing those services to commercial companies while developing its own new rocket and spacecraft for deep-space exploration.

What goes up can come down

SpaceX is one of two companies with contracts to provide cargo shipments to the space station for NASA. The other firm, the Virginia-based Orbital Sciences Corp., has a $1.9 billion deal for station resupply flights using its new Antares rocket and unmanned Cygnus spacecraft. Of the two companies, only SpaceX's Dragon is capable of returning cargo to Earth for retrieval.

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Private SpaceX Cargo Ship Launching 'New Era' for Space Station Today

The first commercial resupply mission to the International Space Station is set to lift off from the Kennedy Space Center Sunday evening.From the space station crew's standpoint, some of the most precious cargo could well be ice cream.

The first commercial resupply mission to the International Space Station is set to lift off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida Sunday evening kicking off a series of at least 12 resupply missions NASA has ordered up under a $1.6-billion contract with Space Exploration Technologies, based in Hawthorne, Calif.

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The mission, utilizing SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket topped with the company's cargo-carrying Dragon capsule, follows on the heels of a successful test flight to the space station in May.

During that mission, Dragon delivered just over 1,000 pounds of cargo that NASA officials said wouldn't represent a significant set-back for the space-station program if something went wrong during the mission. This time, Dragon is carrying 882 pounds (nearly a ton when packaging is included) of more-precious cargo: experiments and hardware for the US, European, and Japanese laboratories; additional components needed to maintain the station; and crew supplies.

IN PICTURES: Launch of SpaceX's Falcon 9 Rocket

From the space station crew's standpoint, some of the most precious of all the cargo could well be ice cream Dragon is bringing up not the freeze-dried kind, but real ice cream, kept in a new lab freezer Dragon will deliver. It's part of a shipment of "bonus food" the space agency periodically sends. The freezer is designed to preserve samples from biology and life-science experiments running on the station for return to Earth.

Indeed, Dragon's ability to return cargo to Earth is unique among the unmanned cargo craft the station's international partners provide. NASA's space shuttles were the only other vehicles able to do this. But NASA flew its final shuttle mission in July 2011, and the orbiters now are museum pieces.

All of the other cargo craft operating, as well as the capsule a second US company is building to supply commercial cargo service for NASA, become trash incinerators once they leave the station. They and the refuse they carry burn up on reentry.

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SpaceX set to launch with cargo for International Space Station

The California-based company SpaceX is set to launch the first of a dozen missions to deliver critical supplies to the International Space Station for the U.S. space agency. But, on the eve of the mission, the launch weather forecaster said there is a 40-percent chance that poor weather could delay the launch from Cape Canaveral in Florida Sunday night [Monday, October 8th at 0035 UTC]. The SpaceX unmanned Dragon capsule is set to launch atop a Falcon 9 rocket toward the International Space Station for the second time ever. The company made history in May when its space capsule became the first private vehicle to dock with the ISS.

SpaceX proved worthy in demo SpaceX president Gwynne Shotwell told reporters at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida Saturday evening that the rocket and capsule in this first operational mission are largely the same as the ones used in the successful demonstration flight. "I'm not sure any [members] of the engineering team, frankly, or myself feels like this [mission] is substantially different than the last one with the exception that we got there once," said Shotwell. "We demonstrated we could do it. So there might be a teeny, teeny bit of relaxation. Uhm, not a lot though." NASA has awarded SpaceX a $1.6 billion contract to provide 12 supply flights to the ISS. Space station partners Russia, Europe and Japan have the ability to deliver cargo to the ISS, but their cargo vessels burn up in the atmosphere during reentry. The United States has not been able to send supplies to the ISS since NASA retired its space shuttle fleet last year. U.S. launch capability is not just a matter of national pride. "When you have a launch vehicle that is in your country, it just makes it a lot easier because literally shipping and customs can kill you when you're trying to get overseas, and this really makes the process faster and allows us to react to anomalies in real time," explained NASA's space station program manager Mike Suffredini.

Scientific & re-supply mission The Dragon will be filled with about 450 kilograms of supplies, including materials critical to scientific research. The capsule will also carry a freezer for experiments - prompting talk that NASA might send ice cream as a sweet surprise to the astronauts. At the end of the month, the capsule will return to Earth carrying space station hardware as well as scientific materials, including research samples. Julie Robinson, a program scientist at NASA, called the first commercial cargo launch "a momentous milestone for research." "The SpaceX Dragon is a really important vehicle for us because it supports the laboratory use of ISS both in bringing cargo up to the space station and in bringing research samples home, and it has a great return capability," said Robinson. "It essentially replaces that capacity that we lost when the shuttle retired."

NASA looking beyond Earth orbit The U.S. space agency is focusing on developing a new generation of space vehicle that can travel to an asteroid or Mars, and it is investing in private companies to handle low-Earth orbit transportation, such as trips to the space station. Howard McCurdy, a professor of public affairs at American University in Washington, says this strategy is a gamble. "It's a big bet, because what the United States is betting is that the commercial sector can do what NASA seemed incapable of doing in the last days of the shuttle flights, and that is developing a low-cost, high-reliability launch vehicle that can take people and cargo from the surface of the Earth to low-Earth orbit and bring the people back occasionally," says McCurdy. SpaceX says it expects to be ready to carry people into space within three years. If this first resupply mission goes as planned, astronauts will use the space station's robotic arm to grab and dock the Dragon capsule three days after launch. Dragon will return to Earth at the end of October.

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SpaceX Capsule Ready to Launch to Space Station

Ice cream is blasting off for the crew of the International Space Station (ISS).

The frozen confectionery not the freeze-dried souvenir version sold in museum gift shops is packed on board the first NASA-contracted commercial mission to resupply the orbiting laboratory.

The Commercial Resupply Services-1 (CRS-1) mission is scheduled to lift off on a Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) Falcon 9 rocket on Sunday (Oct. 7) at 8:35 p.m. EDT (0035 GMT Oct. 8) from Launch Complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

The ice cream, which is now a not-so-secret surprise for the station's current three member crew, was confirmed as on board SpaceX's Dragon cargo capsule by NASA after a pre-launch press conference Saturday (Oct. 6) raised the possibility that it was included.

"We talked about flying ice cream," said NASA's manager for the space station program, Michael Suffredini. "We try to bring up what we call 'bonus food' for the crew, and this is one of those flights that will have that." [Space Food Photos: What Astronauts Eat in Orbit]

GLACIER goodies

The vanilla with swirled chocolate sauce ice cream cups won't melt on their three-day journey to the space station thanks to a freezer on board the Dragon capsule.

"We're very excited," SpaceX president Gwynne Shotwell told reporters. "This is the first time we are taking powered cargo up. We are taking up a GLACIER freezer, which has refrigerated science samples in it."

The GLACIER, or General Laboratory Active Cryogenic ISS Experiment Refrigerator, is primarily used to preserve science samples that require temperatures between minus 301 and 39 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 160 and 4 degrees Celsius) on the way to or from the space station. The mini-fridge sized freezer previously flew aboard the space shuttle.

"Having been on a flight that had an empty freezer on it going up into space, we did fill it [with ice cream] and it's really nice!" Robert Cabana, former shuttle astronaut and the director of NASA's Kennedy Space Center, said.

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Astronaut Ice Cream: Frozen Dessert Launching to Space Station

The Canadian-built robotic arms built for NASA's space shuttle fleet and the International Space Station are about to get two new siblings.

Last week, the Canadian Space Agency showed off the Next-Generation Canadarm (NGC) prototypes, which were unveiled after three years of development at Canadian company MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates. The mechanical limbs are the successors to the shuttle fleet's Canadarm and station's Canadarm2, which played pivotal rolls in the station's construction for more than a decade.

The CSA and MDA plan to use this technology to position Canada for newer space business opportunities in areas such as in-orbit refueling of satellites, said Gilles Leclerc, the agency's director-general of space exploration.

"We prepared all these new systems so that we will be well-positioned for the next thing in space," Leclerc said.

Space news from NBCNews.com

The first-ever year-long mission to the International Space Station will launch in 2015 and feature an American-Russian crew, NASA revealed Friday.

However, the Canadian government's $53.1 million contribution to the arm project (as well as supporting testbeds and simulators) has only brought them to the prototype stage so far. The arms will require more money for launch configurations and a ride to orbit.

Fuelling competition One of the prototype arms spans 49 feet (15 meters), the same length as the space station's Canadarm2. But the new arm is lighter and has two sections that telescope into each other. This makes it more suitable to fold up inside the smaller spacecraft of the future. [Photos: Building the International Space Station]

The other NGC prototype arm is a miniature, at 8.5 feet long (2.58 meters). Like the station's Dextre robot, which it is modeled after, it will be able to refuel satellites, grapple tools and manipulate items such as blankets that cover satellites.

Manufacturer MDA has spent several years touting the benefits of satellite refueling, which the company says would save money since satellites could be kept aloft longer if they can receive more fuel after launch.

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Canada unveils two new space 'Canadarms'

The first-ever year-long mission to the International Space Station will launch in 2015 and feature an American-Russian crew, NASA revealed today (Oct. 5).

Two astronauts one Russian and one American will launch together in spring 2015 on an experimental endurance mission that will last twice as long as current stays aboard the orbiting lab. The main goal is to gather data that will help lay the groundwork for manned flights to destinations in deep space, officials said.

"In order for us to eventually move beyond low-Earth orbit, we need to better understand how humans adapt to long-term spaceflight," NASA's Michael Suffredini, International Space Station program manager, said in a statement. "The space station serves as a vital scientific resource for teaching us those lessons, and this year-long expedition aboard the complex will help us move closer to those journeys."

The announcement confirms speculation that has been bubbling for several months. Earlier this week, a Russian space official claimed the marathon mission was a done deal, but until today NASA had simply said that such a flight was under consideration. [Most Extreme Human Spaceflight Records]

Launching two astronauts means that one seat on the mission's three-person Soyuz spacecraft may be available for another crewmember. On Oct. 10, British singer Sarah Brightman will make a "groundbreaking announcement" about space travel, and some observers speculate that she or somebody else may be taking the Soyuz' third seat as a space tourist.

During the 12 years that people have lived continuously aboard the space station, scientists have learned a lot about how microgravity affects the human body. They've documented significant effects, for example, on bone density, muscle mass, strength and vision.

But that information has been based on orbital stays that lasted a maximum of six months. Studying astronauts on a year-long mission should yield even greater insights into crew health and performance, researchers said.

"We have gained new knowledge about the effects of spaceflight on the human body from the scientific research conducted on the space station, and it is the perfect time to test a one-year expedition aboard the orbital laboratory," said Julie Robinson, NASA's program scientist for the International Space Station. "What we will gain from this expedition will influence the way we structure our human research plans in the future."

NASA has a keen interest in learning how the human body holds up for long stretches in space, for the agency is currently working to send astronauts to a near-Earth asteroid by 2025 and Mars by the mid-2030s. A manned roundtrip journey to Mars could take around two years, according to some mission concepts.

Neither NASA nor the Russian Federal Space Agency, which is known as Roscosmos, has revealed who the two astronauts will be. A few months ago, however, Russia's Interfax news agency reported that the NASA crewmember could be Peggy Whitson, who recently stepped down as the agency's chief astronaut to rejoin its active spaceflying ranks.

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One Year In Space: US-Russian Crew Launching Audacious Spaceflight in 2015

SpaceX's robotic Dragon capsule is slated to blast off Sunday night (Oct. 7) on the first-ever bona fide private cargo run to the International Space Station.

In May, Dragon become the first commercial spacecraft to visit the station. But that was a demonstration flight, while Sunday's launch kicks off the first of 12 unmanned supply missions SpaceX will make for NASA under a $1.6 billion contract.

Dragon will deliver about 1,000 pounds (454 kilograms) of supplies, then return to Earth on Oct. 28 carrying more than 1,200 pounds (544 kg) of different gear down from the space station. Here's how the mission will work.

Getting into space

The Dragon capsule is set to blast off atop SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket at 8:35 p.m. EDT Sunday (0035 GMT Monday). The mission has an instantaneous launch window, so if anything causes a delay Sunday, liftoff will be pushed to another day.

At about 1 p.m. EDT Sunday (1700 GMT), Dragon and the Falcon 9 will be powered up, and fueling of the rocket will begin three and a half hours later. [SpaceX's Dragon Poised to Launch Sunday (Photos)]

The terminal countdown begins at T-minus 10 minutes and 30 seconds, at which point all launch systems will be autonomous. A final "go" for launch will come at T-minus 2 minutes and 30 seconds, NASA officials said.

Seventy seconds after liftoff, the Falcon 9 rocket will reach supersonic speed. By 2.5 minutes into the flight, it will be traveling 10 times the speed of sound, at an altitude of 56 miles (90 kilometers). At about this time, the rocket's main engines will cut off.

A few seconds later, the Falcon 9 rocket's first and second stages will separate, with the second stage soon performing a six-minute burn to take Dragon to low-Earth orbit.

Nine minutes and 49 seconds after launch, Dragon will separate from the rocket's second stage. Seconds later, the capsule will reach its preliminary orbit, at which point it will deploy its solar arrays and begin a series of thruster firings to get it close to the space station.

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How SpaceX's First Space Station Cargo Mission Will Work