Article Posted on : - May 27, 2012

The SpaceX Dragon is seen berthed to the International Space Station's Harmony module. A NASA TV photo

WASHINGTON (AFP): SpaceX's Dragon capsule Friday successfully docked with the International Space Station on a first of its kind cargo mission for commercial spaceflight, NASA said.

The berthing was completed at 12:02 pm (1602 GMT), bringing the Dragon to latch on at the station's Harmony module following a grab by the ISS robotic arm earlier in the day, NASA said.

"Everything has gone very smoothly," said a NASA commentator, adding that the six member ISS crew would soon start working on equalizing pressure between the two spacecraft.

The hatches are set to open Saturday so that the unloading of the Dragon's more than half ton of cargo -- including supplies, computers and science experiments -- can begin.