Space Exploration Technology Corp.’s (SpaceX) Dragon space capsule successfully berthed with the International Space Station (ISS) Sunday at 10:06 a.m. EDT, the company said on its website.

The berthing was part of SpaceX’s third Cargo Resupply Services (CRS) mission for NASA, which is to deliver goods to the ISS. CRS-3 is also part of SpaceX’s process to become certified to compete for national security space launches as part of the Air Force’s Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) program. SpaceX must meet rigorous certification requirements and perform at least three successful flights of a common launch vehicle to be considered for launching national security payloads. The company successfully launched its Falcon 9v1.1 rocket towards the ISS Friday afternoon.

A Falcon 9 launch from January. Photo: SpaceX.
A Falcon 9 launch from January. Photo: SpaceX.

Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center (AFSMC) said in late February the company’s Sept. 29 launch of its Falcon 9v1.1 launch vehicle would count toward EELV certification. AFSMC also said it was still assessing Falcon 9v1.1 launches on Dec. 3 and Jan. 6 for possible certification. An email to AFSMC for comment was not returned by press time.

Friday’s launch was also important as it would be the first time SpaceX tried to recover the first stage booster from Falcon 9v1.1. The company said on its website “first stage landing in the Atlantic (Ocean) was good” and that flight computers continued transmitting for eight seconds after reaching water, but stopped when the booster went horizontal. The company did not specify whether it recovered the first stage booster from Friday’s launch and a company spokeswoman declined Monday to provide details about recovery. Part of SpaceX’s long-term goals for reducing the cost of launch is the ability to reuse rockets.

According to its launch manifest, SpaceX has 12 launches remaining this year, including three CRS missions and one Air Force mission, DSCOVER, which is an EELV-class mission.