In a follow-up from the story on Monday regarding the successful launch of the Dragon cargo capsule on the NASA resupply mission, word has been received today that docking with the ISS was successful. The 3 tons of supplies have been delivered safely to the orbiting space station, and the Dragon will remain connected for the whole of April, after which time it will be sent back to earth, again loaded this time with outgoing supplies. Landing will take place in the pacific where SpaceX will retrieve the capsule after it’s second successful mission.
At current design tolerances, the Dragon capsules are rated for three missions, so this one may have yet another trip in the future. The goal of re-usability is not only here, but has now been proven to work over and over again, with the results showing clearly in the price to orbit.
(space.com)