Dragon overcomes issues, arrives at Station

After a wild Friday in which SpaceX’s Dragon capsule drifted freely around the Earth while ground controllers scrambled to fix an issue with its propellant valves, the capsule has arrived safely at the International Space Station. Expedition 34 astronauts Kevin Ford and Tom Marshburn grappled Dragon with Canadarm 2 at 5:31 a.m. EST Sunday and berthed it to the station’s Harmony module at 8:56 a.m.

“Let me just say, congratulations to the SpaceX and Dragon team in Houston and California,” said Ford, the current ISS commander, shortly after capture.

“As they say, it’s 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,” he said.

Sunday’s capture came only one day later than originally planned, after SpaceX fixed Dragon’s thruster issues by cycling the capsule's propellant valves to free suspected blockages. Elon Musk reported the transition from free drift to active control Friday afternoon shortly before Dragon raised its orbit to match the International Space Station.

The station crew opened Dragon’s hatch at 1:14 p.m. EST Sunday. Over the next three weeks, they will unload over a half-ton of supplies and experiments and refill the capsule with cargo prior to its return to Earth. Splashdown is currently scheduled for March 25.