The privately-owned Space X unmanned cargo ship has arrived at the International Space Station carrying several tons of supplies for the crew.
American astronauts Jeff Williams and Kate Rubins used the station's Canadian-built robot arm to grab the unmanned Dragon capsule early Wednesday morning after its two-day trip to catch up to the orbital outpost.
Among the supplies aboard the Dragon is a new docking port for the ISS that will accommodate the privately-owned spacecraft that will carry crews and cargo to the station under NASA's Commercial Crew program.
The companies involved in the program, SpaceX and Boeing, will begin launching manned crews next year.The manned craft are scheduled to begin test flights next year.