Watch: Dragon capsule docks with International Space Station

Watch: Dragon capsule docks with International Space Station

SpaceX has successfully docked one of its Dragon cargo ships with the International Space Station (ISS).

It's the second attempt by the private space company to deliver a crucial docking port, following last year's failed launch and explosion.

Watch: Dragon capsule docks with International Space Station

A robotic arm pulls the Dragon capsule into place (NASA TV)

"We've captured us a Dragon," Commander Jeff Williams radioed from the ISS. "Congratulations to the entire team that put this thing together, launched it and successfully rendezvoused it to the International Space Station. We look forward to the work that it brings."

The docking port is needed for NASA's new manned capsules to dock with the ISS. Since the end of the shuttle programme, the US space agency has been relying on Russian-made craft to get astronauts back and forth.

Also on board the Dragon was food, clothing, spacewalk gear, Russian hardware, spare parts, research equipment and 12 mice.

Watch: Dragon capsule docks with International Space Station

The Dragon capsule firmly attached to the ISS (NASA TV)

Experiments planned include gene sequencing in zero gravity, studies of bone and muscle loss and how hearts beat in weightlessness.

Newshub.