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SpaceX Dragon capsule reaches space station (live video)

A robotic arm on the International Space Station has reached out and captured the Dragon. Next up in this historic mission: docking with the space station.

Jon Skillings Editorial director
Jon Skillings is an editorial director at CNET, where he's worked since 2000. A born browser of dictionaries, he honed his language skills as a US Army linguist (Polish and German) before diving into editing for tech publications -- including at PC Week and the IDG News Service -- back when the web was just getting under way, and even a little before. For CNET, he's written on topics from GPS, AI and 5G to James Bond, aircraft, astronauts, brass instruments and music streaming services.
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The payoff moment of the historic SpaceX mission to the International Space Station is upon us.

A robotic arm on the International Space Station has reached out and captured the SpaceX Dragon capsule at a distance of about 10 meters. Next up in this historic mission: docking with the space station.

The capture occurred at 9:56 a.m. ET / 6:56 a.m. PT. It had been expected to occur about an hour earlier, but the capsule held at the 30-meter point as the ISS crew made evaluations and adjustments.

Folks at SpaceX, founded by tech entrepreneur Elon Musk, were understandably elated. As soon as NASA confirmed the docking, SpaceX tweeted: CAPTURE COMPLETE!!!

Actual docking with the space station is expected to occur later today. You can watch the docking in the embedded NASA video above.

This mission marks the first time a privately built spacecraft has rendezvoused with the space station.

Assuming a successful docking, the ISS crew plans to open hatches and float into the capsule Saturday to begin unloading about 1,100 pounds of supplies and equipment.

Editors' note: We are occasionally updating this story as the approach and docking sequence takes place.

SpaceX Dragon's quest to the space station (pictures)

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