Robotic Arm Grabs SpaceX Dragon at International Space Station
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NASA TV(NEW YORK) — The SpaceX Dragon arrived safely at the International Space Station Monday with cargo and belated Christmas gifts after a two-day journey through space.
The arrival marked the fifth time SpaceX had successfully sent its vessel filled with cargo to the ISS on a resupply mission.
A giant robotic arm was deployed to catch Dragon and bring it closer to the space station. Crew members then spent two hours installing the vessel before unloading the precious cargo, which includes food, science experiments and belated Christmas presents.
Attached to a Falcon 9 rocket, Dragon blasted off Saturday, however the mission’s historic efforts to land the leftover booster on an ocean barge were unsuccessful.
“Rocket made it to drone spaceport ship, but landed hard. Close, but no cigar this time. Bodes well for future tho,” SpaceX founder Elon Musk wrote on Twitter.
Having the ability to recycle rockets is something Musk previously said will “revolutionize access to space.”
“If one can figure out how to effectively reuse rockets just like airplanes, the cost of access to space will be reduced by as much as a factor of a hundred,” he said.
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