[iframe width="468" height="284"]http://www.ustream.tv/embed/6540154[/iframe]
"Looks like we've got a dragon by the tail," space station astronaut Don Pettit said after maneuvering the space station's robotic arm to capture the capsule.
The capsule, which is carrying only cargo but might one day carry astronauts, is the first private vehicle to link with the orbiting laboratory.
It was launched on a Falcon 9 rocket, also built by SpaceX, the company owned by PayPal co-founder Elon Musk.
The capsule was slowly brought into position close to the space station. Then Pettit reached out and snagged the capsule with the station's robotic arm.
[caption id="attachment_172279" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Frame grab from live NASA TV image after linkup of the SpaceX "Dragon" capsule with the International Space Station. Image courtesy NASA."][/caption]
Dragon was bolted to the space station's Harmony module shortly after 9 a.m. Pacific.
Viewers could see glimpses of the SpaceX mission control room in Hawthorne, as well as at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, during the live feed of the linkup on NASA TV.
The space station crew that worked to snag the Dragon included Joe Acaba, who grew up in Anaheim.
They hoped to complete the birthing of Dragon by afternoon.
The linkup launches a new era of private, commercial space flight, with several companies aiming for Earth orbit.
SpaceX is so far leading the pack. In 2008, NASA announced a $1.6 billion contract with the company to resupply the space station with a minimum of 12 flights.
Text OCRQUAKE to 56654 to get free quake news alerts.
Text OCRSCIENCE to 56654 to get free science news alerts.
[rssfeedme cat="sciencedude" feedpath="/category/aint-that-interesting/feed/" max="5"]