Posted on by Nancy Atkinson

Image Gallery: Astronauts Capture a Dragon

Sunday was a big day in space, and astronaut Chris Hadfield captured the excitement in photos, and shared them via Twitter. “What a day!” Hadfield tweeted. “Reached & grabbed a Dragon, berthed her to Station & opened the hatch to find fresh fruit, notes from friends, and peanut butter.”

SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft overcame a problem with its thrusters after reaching orbit on Friday, and on Sunday Dragon successfully approached the Station, where it was captured by Expedition 34 Commander Kevin Ford and crewmate Tom Marshburn using the station’s Canadarm2 robotic arm. Dragon was grappled at 5:31 a.m. EST, and was berthed to the Earth-facing port of the Harmony module at approximately 8:56 a.m. EST on March 3.

See more photos below. The image captions are Hadfield’s Tweets.

'Dragon comes into view - first sight this morning, sneaking up on us from behind the Progress solar array,' Tweeted Chris Hadfied. Credit: NASA/Chris Hadfield.
‘Dragon comes into view – first sight this morning, sneaking up on us from behind the Progress solar array,’ tweeted Chris Hadfied. Credit: NASA/Chris Hadfield.
'The Dragon spaceship high over Mount Etna - both spitting fire.' Credit: NASA/Chris Hadfield.
‘The Dragon spaceship high over Mount Etna – both spitting fire.’ Credit: NASA/Chris Hadfield.
The Dragon approaches the ISS over sub-Saharan Africa. Credit: NASA/Chris Hadfield.
The Dragon approaches the ISS over sub-Saharan Africa. Credit: NASA/Chris Hadfield.
Hadfield's self-portrait in the Cupola with rising Dragon below, Africa behind. Credit: NASA/Chris Hadfield.
Hadfield’s self-portrait in the Cupola with rising Dragon below, Africa behind. Credit: NASA/Chris Hadfield.
'Like a Praying Mantis, Canadarm2 poised to reach out and grab Dragon.' Credit: NASA/Chris Hadfield.
‘Like a Praying Mantis, Canadarm2 poised to reach out and grab Dragon.’ Credit: NASA/Chris Hadfield.
'Success! Canadarm2 holds Dragon by the nose, to drag it up and hook it on to a Station hatch.' Credit: NASA/Chris Hadfield.
‘Success! Canadarm2 holds Dragon by the nose, to drag it up and hook it on to a Station hatch.’ Credit: NASA/Chris Hadfield.
'Happy crewmember - Dragon securely snared by Canadarm2, ready to be lifted around, hooked into place, and opened up.' Credit: NASA/Chris Hadfield.
‘Happy crewmember – Dragon securely snared by Canadarm2, ready to be lifted around, hooked into place, and opened up.’ Credit: NASA/Chris Hadfield.

In this video, Hadfield provides a tour of the Robotic Workstation where the crew commanded Canadarm2 to capture and dock the Dragon:

5 Replies to “Image Gallery: Astronauts Capture a Dragon”

  2. Good Job on the recovery, “Ut spatium semper tua domum” and earth your only challenge.

  3. In space, they have captured a dragon
    And hooked it right up to their wagon
    In brought them fresh fruit
    And letters to boot
    Seems USPS may be lagging

  5. Kind of ‘iffy’ there for a while… being reminiscent of CRS-1 and that anomaly. But it’s now a done deed and GREAT to see the Dragon on station!

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