The International Space Station has accepted another SpaceX shipment. This one contains the first 3-D printer ever launched into orbit.
Two days after blasting off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, the SpaceX cargo ship, Dragon, arrived at the space station Tuesday morning. German astronaut Alexander Gerst used the robot arm to grab the capsule.
The Dragon is delivering more than 5,000 pounds of supplies. The 3-D printer -- an experimental model -- is the headliner payload. Also on board: mice and flies for biological research, fresh spacesuit batteries so NASA can resume routine spacewalks, and a $30 million instrument to measure ocean wind.
NASA is paying SpaceX to stock the space station. Last week, the California-based company won the right to transport astronauts, too. That's still a few years off.