The hatch of SpaceX’s unmanned Dragon cargo spacecraft has been opened by the crew of the International Space Station (ISS) a day early. The opening was originally scheduled for tomorrow, but SpaceX’s twitter feed announced, “At 1:40PM ET, astronauts opened Dragon's hatch, one day ahead of schedule. Success!”
SpaceX later issued an image of the crew looking inside the Dragon. They are wearing masks to protect themselves against any contaminants or loose debris that may have been caused by the launch. After inspection, the crew will begin the task of unloading 905 kg (1,995 lbs) of supplies including rations, vehicle hardware, experiments, and an ultra-cold freezer for storing scientific samples.
Dragon will remain docked with the space station until October 28, when it is scheduled return experiments and samples back to Earth. It will splash down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of southern California.
Source: SpaceX