CAPE CANAVERAL, FLORIDA — An unmanned SpaceX Dragon capsule has successfully docked with the International Space Station as part of its demonstration mission, according to the BBC.
According to Reuters, the 16-foot-tall (4.9 meter) Crew Dragon capsule was launched atop a Falcon 9 rocket from Florida's Kennedy space Center at 2:49 a.m. on Saturday and deployed into orbit 11 minutes later.
According to the BBC, the Dragon test vehicle autonomously attached itself to the international docking adapter.
The BBC reports the Crew Dragon approached the ISS using lasers and software to guide itself in, while astronauts aboard the space station monitored the docking.
According to BBC, the capsule's "soft capture" contact with the space station occurred at 10:51 GMT, with a full and secure docking confirmed around 10 minutes later.
According to Reuters, the capsule was carrying 400 pounds of supplies and test equipment, and a test dummy named "Ripley."
Ripley is equipped with sensors around the head, neck and spine to monitor how a flight would feel for a human.
The Crew Dragon is scheduled to stay at the ISS for five days, while the three crew members of the space station perform tests on the capsule to see how it is holding up in space.
On Friday morning, after being checked out and loaded with cargo, the capsule will undock from the ISS and then plunge back toward Earth.
Parachutes will deploy during the capsule's decent, where it should plunge into the Atlantic Ocean near Florida for retrieval.
