The reusable Dragon spacecraft, which is on its fourth cargo re-supply mission to the orbiting station, docked this morning at the ISS, where it will spend the next four weeks before splashing into the Pacific Ocean, SpaceX officials were quoted as saying by the ABC News. .
The trip marked the first time Dragon carried live mammals, which will live in NASA's Rodent Research Facility where researchers will study the long-term impact of weightlessness on their bodies.
Also on board was the first 3-D printer launched into space. It could potentially crank out spare parts that will allow astronauts to one day fix their vessel on the spot.
Dragon arrived at the ISS with a total of 5,000 pounds of cargo, including science experiments, crew supplies and spacewalk equipment, according to NASA.