SpaceX delivery capsule containing food and spacewalking gear was captured by ISS's robot arm 260 miles above Egypt

This article is more than 6 years old

This article is more than 6 years old

The crew of the International Space Station on Sunday took delivery of a special Easter treat: a cargo ship full of supplies.



The SpaceX company's cargo ship, Dragon, spent two days chasing the ISS following its launch from Cape Canaveral. Astronauts eventually used a robot arm to capture the capsule, 260 miles above Egypt.



More than two tons of food, spacewalking gear and experiments fill the Dragon, including mating fruit flies and legs for the station's resident robot. Nasa also packed family care packages for the six spacemen.

On Wednesday, the stakes will be even higher when the two Americans on board conduct a spacewalk to replace a dead computer. Nasa wants a reliable backup in place as soon as possible, even though the primary computer is working fine. The backup failed on 11 April.

The SpaceX delivery was delayed more than a month. A minor communication problem cropped up during Sunday's rendezvous, but the capture took place on time.

SpaceX flight controllers, at company headquarters in Hawthorne, California, exchanged high-fives, shook hands, applauded and embraced once Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata snared the Dragon with the station's robot arm.

"Great work catching the Dragon," radioed Nasa's Mission Control in Houston. "Thanks for getting her on board."

The Dragon will remain attached to the space station until mid-May. It will be filled with science samples – including the flies – for return to Earth.



Nasa is paying SpaceX as well as Virginia's Orbital Sciences to regularly stock the orbiting lab. These commercial shipments stemmed from the 2011 retirement of the space shuttles. This was the fourth station delivery carried out by SpaceX. Russia, Japan and Europe also make occasional deliveries.