"The SpaceX Dragon cargo craft spashed down in the Pacific Ocean at 3:22 p.m. EDT Sunday about 250 miles off the coast of Baja California, marking a successful conclusion to the first contracted resupply mission to the International Space Station," NASA says in a press release.

"After Dragon is secured, the SpaceX team will then place the vehicle on the deck of a 100-foot boat for the journey back to shore. Early-arrival cargo will be delivered to NASA within 48 hours of splashdown. Dragon will then travel from Southern California to SpaceX's facility in McGregor, Texas, where the remaining cargo will be unloaded, processed and delivered to NASA," the release said.

Splashdown confirmed at 3:22 p.m. EDT (1922 GMT) in the Pacific Ocean, concluding Dragon's first of 12 operational cargo flights to the International Space Station.

Mission control in Houston just informed the space station crew that the recovery boat has spotted the Dragon spacecraft with three main parachutes out.

Mission control in Houston just informed the space station crew that the recovery boat has spotted the Dragon spacecraft with three main parachutes out.

SpaceX says Dragon's drogue parachutes have deployed.

After deploying two drogue parachutes for stability, Dragon should now be descending through 10,000 feet under three 116-foot main parachutes, which are designed to slow the craft's speed to a gentle 11 mph at the time of splashdown.

There are no updates from SpaceX yet confirming a good parachute deployment.

Temperatures outside the Dragon spacecraft are expected to reach up to 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit during re-entry.

Mission control in Houston just radioed the space station crew that Dragon is approaching entry interface about 407 nautical miles in front of the complex. The crew aboard the space station will take a look to see if they can spot the capsule's re-entry.

NASA and SpaceX are not providing live video coverage of Dragon's re-entry and splashdown on this mission. On Dragon's test flight in May, live video was beamed from a P-3 Orion chase plane at the landing site.

Dragon should now be encountering the upper reaches of the atmosphere - a point known as entry interface - over the Pacific Ocean. Officials expect a communications blackout in the next few minutes, followed by deployment of the capsule's parachutes beginning at 3:11 p.m. EDT (1911 GMT).

30 minutes until splashdown. Dragon's blunt end is covered with Phenolic Impregnated Carbon Ablator, or PICA, a tough thermal protection system designed to withstand a high-speed, fiery atmospheric entry for missions returning to Earth from locations in deep space, such as asteroids, the moon, or Mars.

NASA's Stardust capsule, which returned dust from a comet, used PICA for a heat shield. And the Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover used a PICA heat shield during its landing at the red planet in August.

Dragon uses a formula known as PICA-X, which SpaceX says is an improvement over the formula used on Stardust.

SpaceX says Dragon's trunk has separated. The disposable trunk is designed to burn up in the atmosphere, while the capsule carries a heat shield to survive re-entry.

The deorbit burn should now be complete and Dragon's unpressurized trunk should have jettisoned a few minutes ago, but SpaceX and NASA have not issued updates on these milestones.

SpaceX and NASA confirm the deorbit burn began on time.

Flying high above the Indian Ocean, the Dragon spacecraft is now firing its Draco thrusters for the deorbit burn, committing the capsule for return to Earth. The burn is expected to last about 10 minutes.

Dragon is carrying more than nearly 1,700 pounds of cargo from the space station in its pressurized cabin. The capsule is the only robotic cargo freighter able to retrieve equipment from the space station and return it to Earth for analysis or repairs.

The deorbit burn is about 15 minutes away. Dragon will fire its Draco thrusters for 10 minutes and 40 seconds to slow its velocity to drop from orbit.

The craft will then jettison its unpressurized trunk, which holds Dragon's solar arrays, and enter the atmosphere. Splashdown is expected 250 miles west of Baja California at 3:20 p.m. EDT (1920 GMT).

SpaceX confirms the door to Dragon's guidance, navigation and control bay has closed. This door holds the ship's grapple fixture and covers the craft's rendezvous sensors.

Closure of the bay door is required for re-entry.

An orbit adjust burn is planned about 30 minutes from now, and then Dragon will close its navigation bay door, a critical activity required for re-entry.

The ship's deorbit burn is expected at 2:28 p.m. EDT (1828 GMT), leading to splashdown 250 miles west of Baja California at 3:20 p.m. EDT (1920 GMT).

NASA is ending its live television coverage of Dragon's mission, but we will provide further updates on the flight's progress as information becomes available from NASA and SpaceX.

Dragon is moving outside the keep-out sphere, an imaginary 200-meter circle around the space station. Astronaut Suni Williams radioed mission control a few minutes ago with these comments:

"Literally and figuratively, there is a piece of us on that spacecraft going home to Earth," Williams said.

Hundreds of vials of blood and tubes of urine were stowed inside freezers aboard Dragon. The specimens will be used by researchers investigating how the human body responds to spaceflight.

The third departure burn is complete.

The spacecraft is now performing a yaw maneuver as planned in the departure sequence.

The second departure burn is complete, and Dragon is on a safe trajectory away from the space station, according to NASA.

The first of three departure burns has been completed to push Dragon away from the space station.

Dragon is now on its own, having been released from the space station arm at 9:29 a.m. EDT (1329 GMT).

The snares holding the robot arm's grasp on Dragon are now being opened.

Mission control in Houston just radioed the crew they are "go" for release of Dragon.

Five minutes until release of Dragon.

NASA and SpaceX report they are in good shape for the departure of Dragon with 1,673 pounds of cargo for the return trip to Earth.

The spacecraft are flying 261 miles above Kazakhstan right now.

After unberthing Dragon from the space station's Harmony module, astronauts controlling the robot arm are preparing to release the spacecraft at 9:26 a.m. EDT (1326 GMT).

Right now, controllers at SpaceX's control center in California are making sure the Dragon spacecraft is in good shape to fly away from the space station, checking the ship's navigation, guidance and propulsion systems before release.

NASA says live television of the release won't be possible because the space station is flying out of Ku-band communications with tracking satellites at the time of Dragon departure. But astronauts will record the event and downlink the footage later.

Astronauts finished loading the Dragon spacecraft with experiment samples and closed the hatch to the capsule Saturday, setting the stage for the ship's departure and return to Earth on Sunday.

The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft is packed with 1,673 pounds of cargo for the trip back to Earth, which will begin at 7:55 a.m. EDT (1155 GMT) Sunday, when astronaut Kevin Ford uses the space station's robotic arm to pull the ship from its docking port.

Ford will release the arm's grip on Dragon at 9:26 a.m. EDT (1326 GMT) about 30 feet below the space station, allowing the robotic craft to begin a series of three thruster firings to propel itself away from the complex.

The ship will close the door to its navigation bay later Sunday. The navigation bay holds the capsule's laser rendezvous sensors, and its lid must be closed and latched for re-entry.

Dragon's deorbit burn will last for about 10 minutes beginning at 2:28 p.m. EDT (1828 GMT), leading to splashdown at 3:20 p.m. EDT (1920 GMT) in the Pacific Ocean west of Baja California.

Check out a timeline of Sunday's major activities.

The Dragon arrived at the space station Oct. 10 with fresh supplies, spare parts, food and experiments. The privately-built craft launched Oct. 7 from Cape Canaveral, Fla.

The mission is the first operational commercial resupply flight to the space station. SpaceX has a $1.6 billion contract with NASA for 12 cargo missions to the outpost.

After the retirement of the space shuttle, NASA is turning to the private sector for cargo transportation to the station, and eventually for astronaut flights.

Biological experiment samples, such as blood and urine, are packed inside freezers and insulated cold bags inside the capsule. Scientists will analyze the specimens to learn how astronauts exercise and nutrition affect their bone mass in microgravity.

The spacecraft is also carrying hardware from the space station's crew health, life support and electrical systems. Engineers could refurbish the equipment and launch it again later.

Here is a complete listing of what is inside Dragon for the return trip to Earth.

Space station managers on Wednesday approved plans for Sunday's scheduled departure of SpaceX's Dragon commercial cargo spacecraft filled with nearly one ton of failed parts, experiments, and precious blood and urine samples for return to Earth.

Read our full story.

SpaceX and NASA have formed a joint investigation board to look into the cause of an engine failure during Sunday's launch of a Falcon 9 rocket on the first operational commercial resupply flight to the International Space Station, SpaceX announced Friday.

Katherine Nelson, a SpaceX spokesperson, said in a statement that engineers will understand what happened during launch and fix the problem before the next Falcon 9 launch, which is currently targeted for January.

"This board will methodically analyze all data in an effort to understand what occurred to engine 1 during liftoff of the CRS-1 mission on Sunday, October 7," the statement said. "While Falcon 9 was designed for engine out capability and the Dragon spacecraft has successfully arrived at the space station, SpaceX is committed to a comprehensive examination and analysis of all launch data, with the goal of understanding what happened and how to correct it prior to future flights."

The engine shut down due to a sudden pressure loss 79 seconds after liftoff, and the remaining eight first stage Merlin engines burned longer than planned to compensate for the loss in performance.

The Falcon 9's second stage also fired longer than scheduled, burning more propellant than planned and forcing the rocket to abort a second firing of the upper stage engine, stranding a secondary communications satellite payload for Orbcomm Inc. in a bad orbit.

While Orbcomm said engineers were able to complete some test objectives on the 363-pound prototype satellite, the craft re-entered the atmosphere this week and the company is filing an insurance claim for a total loss.

The prototype Orbcomm data communications satellite launched into an incorrect orbit by SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket Sunday has re-entered and burned up in Earth's atmosphere, and although its owners say the mission achieved several objectives, Orbcomm is claiming the mission a total loss.

Read our full story.

SpaceX's commercial Dragon cargo freighter made an automated laser-guided rendezvous with the International Space Station on Wednesday, reaching the complex with 882 pounds of food, experiments and other equipment.

Read our full story.

All 16 bolts in the common berthing mechanism have driven to create a firm connection between Dragon and the Harmony module. The commercial spacecraft is now part of the International Space Station.

Final berthing occurred at 9:03 a.m. EDT (1303 GMT) as the space station flew 273 miles over the southern Atlantic Ocean.

Hatch opening between the space station and Dragon is expected Thursday.

First-stage capture is complete, and 16 bolts will soon drive to firmly attach Dragon to the space station.

The robot arm has positioned Dragon in the so-called ready-to-latch position at the Harmony module's Earth-facing berthing port. Four latches will close to create an initial connection.

Dragon is now aligned with the berthing port on Harmony.

The robot arm is beginning to move the Dragon spacecraft toward the Earth-facing port on Harmony.

The next step this morning will be to move Dragon to a berthing port on the space station's Harmony module in the next few hours.

Capture confirmed. Japanese astronaut Aki Hoshide grappled Dragon at 6:56 a.m. EDT (1156 GMT) as the space station flew 250 miles above the Pacific Ocean west of Baja California. "Looks like we've tamed the Dragon," radioed space station commander Suni Williams. "We're happy she's on-board with us. Thanks to everyone at SpaceX and NASA for bring her here to us, and the ice cream."

Hoshide is now moving the robot arm toward Dragon.

Mission control just radioed the crew they are "go" to capture Dragon.

The space station crew reports they are ready to capture Dragon, but they are waiting for good communications before executing the maneuver.

Dragon has arrived at the capture point 10 meters, or 32 feet, beneath the space station and within the reach of the 58-foot robotic arm, which will be operated by Japanese flight engineer Aki Hoshide.

Range is now 12 meters, or 39 feet.

Range is now 26 meters, or 85 feet, and the closing rate is a little more than an inch per second.

With the space station crew, Houston and Hawthorne all ready for final approach, Dragon has resumed its glacial flight toward the complex to the so-called capture box, which is about 10 meters, or 32 feet, beneath the outpost.

Astronauts Suni Williams and Aki Hoshide are following the rendezvous in the station's cupola.

Dragon has arrived at a hold point 30 meters, or 98 feet, from the space station. There will be polls of teams in Houston and Hawthorne in the next few minutes before departing this hold point.

NASA says the rendezvous is running about 15 minutes ahead of schedule.

Range is now 119 meters, or 390 feet.

Range between the space station and Dragon is now 185 meters, or 606 feet. Closing rate is about 2.8 inches per second.

The spacecraft is now inside the keep-out sphere, meaning the crew has authority to issue an abort command if Dragon drifts out of its predefined approach corridor.

Capture is on schedule for 7:22 a.m. EDT (1122 GMT).

Range between the space station and Dragon is now 205 meters, or 672 feet.

The space station and Dragon are flying over the western United States in predawn darkness.

Dragon has resumed its approach to another hold point at 30 meters, or 98 feet.

Mission control is "go" for Dragon to continue its approach inside the keep-out sphere, an imaginary circle around the complex used for safety purposes.

Astronaut Suni Williams reports Dragon is in the expected position for this point in the rendezvous. The crew has a control panel linked with Dragon via UHF radio to issue simple commands in case of any problem. For example, the astronauts could tell the spacecraft to hold, abort or retreat.

Dragon has arrived at the 250-meter, or 820-foot, hold point. Teams in Houston and at SpaceX's headquarters in Hawthorne, Calif., will check to verify all is ready to continue on closer to space station.

Dragon's autonomous approach is guided with inputs from a LIDAR laser sensor and two thermal imagers.

The thermal and laser sensors independently measure the distance between Dragon and the space station to feed into the craft's guidance system.

Dragon's LIDAR sensor works by bouncing laser signals off the space station, creating a 3D map of the complex and giving Dragon's computer data on the craft's distance, closure rate, and orientation.

After the yaw maneuver, the Dragon spacecraft is flying closer to the space station along the R-bar, the imaginary line drawn between the space station and the center of the Earth.

The next hold point will be 250 meters, or 820 feet, beneath the complex. Dragon should stop there for about 10 minutes, then press on.

Dragon has arrived at a point 350 meters, or 1,148 feet, directly below the space station. Next up is a short 180-degree yaw maneuver to align itself for final approach.

Check out a manifest of what's on-board Dragon about to be delivered to the space station.

The space station's attitude is being adjusted to be in position for arrival of Dragon.

Range between Dragon and the space station is now about 1,000 meters, or 3,280 feet. Astronauts Aki Hoshide and Suni Williams are in the windowed cupola module, where the work station for the lab's robotic arm is positioned.

Hoshide will be the primary arm operator for the grapple of Dragon, while Williams is expected to take over for berthing of the spacecraft to the station's Harmony module.

Space station commander just tweeted: "Dragon slayers! Practiced approach & grapple, set up & tested the comm system last week for today's snare of the #Dragon. Wish us luck!"

Dragon is about to enter the approach ellipsoid, an imaginary ellipse around the space station.

NASA reports the timeline is progressing a few minutes ahead of schedule this morning, with the so-called approach initiation burn occurring 15 minutes or so before planned.

Live video from the International Space Station shows the Dragon appearing in the distance as it closes inside of 5 miles from the complex.

The approach initiation burn just completed aims Dragon for a point 350 meters directly below the space station, where the craft should arrive in about 45 minutes. Then Dragon will conduct a yaw alignment maneuver before proceeding to a hold point 250 meters below the space station.

SpaceX's commercial Dragon cargo freighter is on track for an automated laser-guided rendezvous with the International Space Station on Wednesday, when astronauts will unlimber the outpost's robotic arm to grab the capsule to begin unloading 882 pounds of fresh food, supplies and experiments.

Since launching Sunday from Cape Canaveral, Fla., the privately-owned Dragon has fired thrusters to adjust its course to the space station. The spacecraft is on track to arrive Wednesday morning despite a mishap with an engine on its Falcon 9 rocket, which continued into orbit by firing its remaining engines longer.

Grapple by the lab's Canadian-built robotic arm is set for approximately 7:22 a.m. EDT (1122 GMT).

Japanese flight engineer Akihiko Hoshide and space station commander Sunita Williams will be tracking the Dragon's approach, ready to send emergency commands to the spacecraft if something goes awry.

Once the Dragon is firmly snared by the robotic arm, the 58-foot Canadarm will move the capsule into position for berthing with the Earth-facing port on the space station's Harmony module around 9:30 a.m. EDT (1330 GMT).

Bolts will mechanically drive into place to connect the Dragon to the module.

The timeline called for the Dragon spaceship to pass within 28 miles, or about 17 miles, behind and below the space station shortly after 2 a.m. EDT (0600 GMT), placing the craft within range of a UHF communications panel the statoin crew would use to issue simple commands to Dragon.

Several height-adjustment and midcourse correction rocket burns will fine-tune Dragon's rendezvous, guiding the ship into position 350 meters, or about 1,150 feet, directly beneath the space station around 5 a.m. EDT (0900 GMT).

The Dragon will initially rely on relative GPS navigation data to guide its approach to the space station. Once directly beneath the complex, its computers will switch to laser and thermal sensors.

Dragon carries a laser guidance sensor package and two thermal cameras to aid its final rendezvous with the space station.

The spacecraft will pause at 250 meters, or 820 feet, below the space station, then again at distances of 30 meters and 10 meters, or 98 feet and 32 feet.

At the 10-meter hold point, the craft will be grappled.

The laser sensor provides range, closing rate and attitude information on the station as Dragon autonomously flies near the space station.

The crew plans to open hatches and enter the commercial cargo freighter Thursday, beginning about three weeks of transfer work to unload supplies and replace them with equipment selected for return to Earth.

Orbcomm Inc., owner of a data communications satellite launched by SpaceX on Sunday, is evaluating whether it can recover the spacecraft after it was deployed in a lower-than-planned orbit by a Falcon 9 rocket.

Read our full story.

One of the Falcon 9 rocket's nine Merlin first stage engines suddenly lost pressure and shut down during Sunday's launch of a commercial resupply craft to the International Space Station, but the engine did not explode and the launcher successfully placed its Dragon payload in the correct orbit, SpaceX said in a statement Monday.

The Falcon 9 rocket lifted off at 8:35 p.m. EDT Sunday (0035 GMT Monday) from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., and reached orbit about 10 minutes later, deploying the privately-built Dragon spacecraft to begin a 59-hour chase of the space station.

Although NASA and SpaceX commentators did not acknowledge the mishap in live coverage of the launch, an engine on the Falcon 9's first stage unexpectedly shut down seconds before the rocket passed through Max Q, engineering shorthand for the moment of peak mechanical stress on the vehicle.

Read our full story.

Dragon's GNC bay door, which houses the craft's rendezvous sensors and grapple fixture, successfully opened as planned last night, according to a SpaceX spokesperson.

The spacecraft uses thermal and optical sensors to navigate in close proximity to the International Space Station, and the grapple fixture is required for the robot arm to grasp the capsule and move it into position on the lab's Harmony module.

SpaceX says Engine No. 1 on the Falcon 9 rocket's first stage experienced some sort of anomaly about 80 seconds into the launch.

Elon Musk, SpaceX's CEO and chief designer, said the engine was shut down by the rocket's on-board computers.

"Falcon 9 detected an anomaly on one of the nine engines and shut it down," Musk wrote in an email to Spaceflight Now. "As designed, the flight computer then recomputed a new ascent profile in realtime to reach the target orbit, which is why the burn times were a bit longer."

The first stage burned nearly 30 seconds longer than planned.

Nine Merlin 1C engines power the Falcon 9's first stage, generating nearly a million pounds of thrust. The kerosene-fueled engines are built by SpaceX at the company's headquarters in Hawthorne, Calif.

Engine No. 1, positioned on one of the corners of the tic-tac-toe pattern of first stage engines, was shut down earlier than planned, according to Gwynne Shotwell, SpaceX's president.

Shotwell said she was not sure of the cause of the problem, but the engine was turned off.

"Like the Saturn 5, which experienced engine loss on two flights, the Falcon 9 is designed to handle an engine flameout and still complete its mission," Musk said. "I believe Falcon 9 is the only rocket flying today that, like a modern airliner, is capable of completing a flight successfully even after losing an engine. There was no effect on Dragon or the space station resupply mission."

SpaceX has long touted the Falcon 9's ability to recover from the loss of a first stage engine at any point during launch.

A company spokesperson said more details on the problem would be released Monday.

The Falcon 9 deployed the Dragon cargo spacecraft in a nearly perfect orbit ranging in altitude from 122 miles to 203 miles, according to SpaceX.

The rocket's second stage later deployed a two-way data communications satellite for Orbcomm Inc., according to Shotwell. No information was immediately available on its state of health.

The Orbcomm satellite rode into orbit as a piggyback payload.

Meanwhile, the Dragon spacecraft is in good condition. The next milestone will be the opening of the navigation bay door, which exposes the rendezvous sensors and grapple fixture necessary to reach the space station.

Opening of the door is scheduled for 2 hours, 43 minutes into the flight.

Deployment of the Orbcomm satellite is scheduled for 62 minutes after liftoff.

NASA reports all three astronauts aboard the International Space Station were able to watch tonight's launch.

"We are right where we need to be at this stage in the mission," said Elon Musk, SpaceX's CEO and chief technical officer, in a post-launch press release. "We still have a lot of work to do, of course, as we guide Dragon's approach to the space station. But the launch was an unqualified success."

The Falcon 9's second stage is programmed to restart shortly to adjust its orbit and release a secondary payload - a 363-pound prototype satellite for the two-way data communications service of Orbcomm Inc.

The Dragon spacecraft will reach the International Space Station on Wednesday, with grapple scheduled for approximately 7:22 a.m. EDT (1122 GMT).

T+plus 14 minutes. Video beamed back from the Dragon spacecraft show both solar array wings have unfurled. They span 54 feet tip-to-tip.

T+plus 12 minutes, 20 seconds. Dragon is deploying its two solar array wings now.

T+plus 11 minutes. Falcon 9 achieved an orbit with a high point of 203 miles and a low point of 122 miles.

T+plus 10 minutes. Falcon 9 has reached orbit!

T+plus 8 minutes. About one minute until the second stage Merlin engine is supposed to shut down as the vehicle reaches orbit. The rocket is aiming for an orbit with a low point of 192 miles, a high point of 202 miles, and an inclination of 51.6 degrees.

T+plus 7 minutes, 30 seconds. Falcon 9 is now traveling 1,000 kilometers northeast of Cape Canaveral at an altitude of 200 kilometers and a velocity of 4.9 kilometers per second.

T+plus 5 minutes. Everything reported to be going well with this second stage engine firing. The Merlin vacuum engine uses an ultra-thin niobium nozzle extension for greater efficiency in the upper atmosphere. The rocket's flight path is taking it northeast parallel to the U.S. East Coast.

T+plus 4 minutes, 20 seconds. The Dragon's nose cone has been jettisoned, and SpaceX reports the Merlin vacuum engine is firing well.

T+plus 4 minutes, 20 seconds. The Dragon's nose cone has been jettisoned, and SpaceX reports the Merlin vacuum engine is firing well.

T+plus 3 minutes, 45 seconds. The Falcon 9 first stage engines have cut off, the stages have separated, and the rocket's second stage Merlin vacuum engine has ignited for its nearly six-minute firing to reach orbital velocity.

T+plus 2 minutes. Now soaring at an altitude of more than 20 miles, the Falcon 9 rocket's first stage will shut down and jettison in about one minute. Two engines will be turned off first, followed a few moments later by the remaining seven engines.

T+plus 1 minute, 30 seconds. The Falcon 9 has surpassed Mach 1 as it soars into the upper atmosphere, trailing an orange flame high above Cape Canaveral.

LIFTOFF! The Falcon 9 rocket is climbing into the night sky over Cape Canaveral, lighting up the Space Coast at the start of a commercial journey to the International Space Station.

T+plus 1 minute. The Falcon 9 rocket is approaching the speed of sound and the phase of maximum aerodynamic pressure.

T-minus 60 seconds and counting. In the final minute of the countdown, the flight computer will command checks of the first stage Merlin engine steering system and the Falcon 9 propellant tanks will be pressurized for flight. Thousands of gallons of water will also be dumped onto the launch pad deck to suppress the sound and acoustics of liftoff.

The command to start the ignition sequence for the first stage will be issued at T-minus 3 seconds, triggering the Merlin engines' TEA-TEB ignitor source moments before the powerplants actually ramp up to full power.

T-minus 90 seconds and counting. The SpaceX launch director and the Air Force Eastern Range have given their final approvals for liftoff of the Falcon 9 rocket at 8:35 p.m. EDT (0035 GMT).

T-minus 3 minutes and counting. The rocket's destruct system is on internal power and being armed, the ground TEA-TEB first ignition system is ready for launch, and liquid oxygen topping is being terminated.

T-minus 4 minutes, 30 seconds. Both stages of the Falcon 9 rocket are now running on internal power.

T-minus 5 minutes and counting. The Falcon 9 computer is aligned for flight. The automated sequence is now terminating loading of gaseous nitrogen into the second stage attitude control system.

T-minus 6 minutes and counting. The Falcon 9 computer and navigation system is configuring for flight and all nine Merlin engine pumps on the first stage are chilled in for ignition. The first stage fuel bleed sequence has started.

T-minus 7 minutes and counting. Within the next minute, the Falcon 9's flight computer will be commanded to its alignment state. The Merlin engine pumps are continuing to chill down.

T-minus 8 minutes and counting. The Dragon spacecraft is being placed on internal power.

T-minus 9 minutes and counting. Prevalves leading to the Falcon 9's Merlin first stage engines are opening, permitting super-cold liquid oxygen to flow into the engines to condition them for ignition.

T-minus 10 minutes and counting. The terminal countdown autosequence has started. Any hold after this point will result in an automatic abort.

T-minus 12 minutes. The launch team has verified all consoles are go for liftoff at 8:35 p.m. EDT (0035 GMT).

T-minus 15 minutes and counting. The Falcon 9 rocket stands 157 feet tall and measures 12 feet in diameter. At liftoff, its nine Merlin 1C first stage engines will generate about 855,000 pounds of thrust.

T-minus 20 minutes and counting. The final poll of the launch team will begin at T-minus 13 minutes before the countdown enters the final phase.

Space station mission control in Houston has given a "go" for launch.

T-minus 28 minutes. At the time of launch, the International Space Station will be flying southwest of Tasmania.

T-minus 37 minutes. All downrange tracking stations report they are ready to support today's launch, and winds aloft are acceptable for liftoff. Follow tonight's launch with this timeline of major events.

T-minus 40 minutes. Countdown activities have resumed after a lull following fueling.

Weather officer Mike McAleenan just briefed the SpaceX launch team and the revised forecast for the time of launch indicates an 80 percent chance of acceptable conditions. That is an improvement over earlier forecasts.

"Right now, we are tracking all go conditions for range weather launch commit criteria as well as Falcon 9 criteria," McAleenan said.

The forecast calls for a few clouds at 4,000 feet and 10,000 feet, and a scattered deck at 25,000 feet. Winds will be out the east-southeast at 8 knots, and the temperature is expected to be 80 degrees Fahrenheit.

T-minus 60 minutes and counting. There continue to be no problems reported in the countdown. Launch weather office Mike McAleenan from the Air Force's 45th Weather Squadron is now briefing the SpaceX team on the conditions around Cape Canaveral.

Scattered high level clouds have streamed over the launch site from the west, but no rain showers are currently in the immediate vicinity of pad.

T-minus 1 hour, 30 minutes. All steps in the countdown up to this point, including fueling, C-band beacon tests, and checks of the Falcon 9's destruct system, have been completed. The next event in the countdown comes at T-minus 40 minutes, when preps for liftoff will resume.

T-minus 1 hour, 42 minutes. The strongback has been lowered to the launch position. All systems are go for launch at this point.

T-minus 2 hours and counting. The strongback structure, a support structure that supports umbilical connections to the rocket, will soon be retracted about 15 degrees away from the Falcon 9.

The strongback is part of the Falcon 9's transporter-erector, a device which holds the rocket during rollout to the launch pad and erecting it vertical.

SpaceX confirms fueling of the Falcon 9 rocket is complete.

All of Falcon 9's propellant tanks are full, and liquid oxygen will continue to be slowly pumped aboard to replenish the rocket's supply as the cryogenic liquid boils off into the warm atmosphere.

Liquid oxygen loading will be terminated at T-minus 3 minutes.

Meteorologists still predict a 40 percent chance of bad weather forcing a launch scrub this evening, but all weather parameters are currently observed green.

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Today's flight is the first commercial resupply mission to the International Space Station, but it's the second time SpaceX has launched a Dragon capsule to rendezvous with the complex.

In May, the company completed a round-trip flight to the outpost, delivering limited supplies on what was largely a demonstration mission to prove Dragon's ability to safely reach the space station.

"The 2,000-plus men and women of SpaceX have been working very hard to make this mission go a little bit smoother than the prior," said Gwynne Shotwell, SpaceX's president.

NASA and SpaceX jointly funded development of the Falcon 9 and Dragon vehicles, with the government providing $396 million in payments as SpaceX accomplished development milestones.

SpaceX has spent a total of $1.2 billion working on the Falcon rocket family and the Dragon spacecraft.

This time, Dragon is loaded with science experiments and spare parts needed by the space station.

"The Dragon is largely the same, although we are carrying the full complement of cargo racks," Shotwell said.

"We're taking about 1,000 pounds of cargo up," Shotwell said. "This is the first time we're taking powered cargo up. we're taking up a GLACIER freezer, which has refrigerated science samples in it. This is also the first time we're going to bring back a GLACIER as well. we're quite excited about the mission both up and back."

For a listing of what's aboard the Dragon capsule for tonight's launch, check out a

Follow the countdown with this manifest of payloads.

T-minus 3 hours, 20 minutes. Fueling of the Falcon 9 rocket is underway at Cape Canaveral's Complex 40.

The liquid oxygen is stored in a 125,000-gallon sphere in the southeast quadrant of Complex 40. The rocket's RP-1 kerosene fuel is kept in cylinder-shaped tanks on the west side of the pad.

Engineers plan to load nearly 39,000 gallons of super cold liquid oxygen and almost 25,000 gallons of kerosene fuel into the first stage tanks. About 7,300 gallons of liquid oxygen and 4,600 gallons of kerosene will go into the second stage.

The propellants flow into the first stage through the launch mount at the base of the rocket. Kerosene and liquid oxygen will be pumped up the strongback umbilical tower to enter the second stage.

A few dozen engineers and managers are stationed inside the SpaceX Launch Control Center near the south gate to Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

At today's launch countdown gets underway, the weather team continues to give a 60 percent chance of acceptable conditions for liftoff at 8:35 p.m. EDT. Thick clouds, anvil cloud and precipitation in the flight path are the launch rules that could be violated tonight.

"A weak boundary is still making a painfully slow push through Florida. The boundary will be in the Central Florida area through the launch count. If the boundary is south of the spaceport by launch time, drier air and more favorable weather conditions will result. However, if the boundary is still in the Central Florida area at launch time, significant clouds and scattered precipitation will likely cause unfavorable launch weather," the launch weather officer reports.

The prediction for launch time calls for scattered clouds at 4,000 feet, broken decks at 10,000 and 25,000 feet, rain showers in the area, good visibility, easterly winds of 8 knots and a temperature of 78 degrees.

The outlook for Monday has worsen a bit to 70 percent favorable for an 8:12 p.m. EDT launch opportunity.

"Models have come into better agreement that on Monday the boundary will wave back north into our area resulting in more clouds and unsettled weather. By Tuesday the boundary is forecast to continue weakening and moving slowly south, resulting in improved weather conditions with less cloud coverage and lower precipitation chances," forecasters say.

Tuesday's 7:46 p.m. EDT launch time forecast is 80 percent favorable.

SpaceX moved the Falcon 9 rocket to the launch pad and hydraulically hoisted the 15-story rocket vertical today, setting the stage for final preps for liftoff at 8:35 p.m. EDT (0035 GMT).

The rocket has a near-instantaneous launch window to lift off tonight.

Workers at Complex 40 opened the doors of SpaceX's hangar and towed the Falcon 9 and its mobile transporter the 600-foot distance to the pad.

The two-stage booster was attached to a transporter-erector, a specially-built apparatus that doubles as a device to lift the rocket vertical and provide umbilical connections to the rocket during the countdown.

The strongback also provides structural support to the rocket from high winds and other weather.

Once in place at the launch pad, the transporter-erector was to be structurally mounted to the pad and plugged into communications, electrical, fueling and pressurization systems through a series of pins and flanges.

The flanges link the rocket with ground storage tanks containing liquid oxygen, kerosene fuel, helium, gaserous nitrogen and the first stage ignitor source called triethylaluminum-triethylborane, better known as TEA-TEB.

The Falcon 9 rocket is integrated with the transporter inside the SpaceX hangar, including attachments to the launcher's propellant plumbing and avionics systems.

Comparatively simple connections are made in the outdoors once the rocket is at the pad. It's part of the Falcon 9's streamlined processing infrastructure, which is designed to ultimately support transportation to the launch pad within a few hours before blastoff.

The weather outlook continues to show a 60 percent chance of acceptable conditions for launch, calling for scattered-to-broken clouds and rain showers in the vicinity of the launch pad at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla.

The forecast for Monday and Tuesday's launch opportunities calls for an 80 percent chance of good weather. Those times are 8:12 and 7:46 p.m. EDT, respectively.

The SpaceX launch team will power up the Falcon 9 rocket and its Dragon payload shortly after 1 p.m. EDT (1700 GMT).

Follow the countdown with this timeline of key milestones.

The Falcon 9 rocket is now going vertical at the launch pad for tonight's blastoff.

SpaceX is poised to start work on a $1.6 billion contract with NASA on Sunday, when a Falcon 9 rocket is set to blast off with 882 pounds of supplies on the first operational commercial cargo flight to the International Space Station.

Launch officials gave the green light for final countdown preparations during a Launch Readiness Review on Friday.

Read our full story.

The preliminary weather outlook for Sunday's instantaneous launch opportunity calls for a 60 percent chance of acceptable conditions.

The weather forecast issued by the U.S. Air Force's 45th Weather Squadron predicts scattered low- and mid-level clouds, a chance of rain showers, light winds out of the northeast, and a temperature of 78 degrees Fahrenheit.

"A weakening boundary is making a slow push through the Florida peninsula over the next few days," forecasters wrote in a synopsis. "Models have been inconsistent on the placement of this boundary on launch day. If the boundary makes a stronger push south of the spaceport by launch time, drier air and more favorable weather conditions will result. If the boundary is still in Central Florida Sunday at launch time, significant clouds and scattered precipitation will cause unfavorable launch weather. Either way some associated upper level moisture will likely remain in the area Sunday."

Meteorologists will be watching thick clouds and precipitation to see if the conditions violate launch weather rules.

The forecast for Monday and Tuesday shows slight improvement, with 30 percent and 20 percent odds of weather prohibiting launch, respectively.

The Falcon 9 rocket has an instant to get off the ground Sunday at 8:35 p.m. EDT (0035 GMT Monday).

While a United Launch Alliance Delta 4 rocket prepares to launch Thursday a few miles up the coast, SpaceX is waiting for its turn to lift off Sunday to start work on a $1.6 billion space station resupply contract.

SpaceX completed a "dry dress rehearsal" on Tuesday, in which engineers rolled out the 157-foot-tall Falcon 9 rocket and rotated it vertical atop the launch pad.

The rehearsal served as a final tune-up for the launch team, which has a busy day Sunday.

Launch day will begin with the loading of final pieces of cargo into the Dragon spacecraft about 12-to-14 hours before liftoff.

Workers will close the Dragon's access hatch before moving the rocket to the launch pad at Cape Canaveral during the mid-morning hours Sunday.

Countdown operations will commence Sunday afternoon, leading to liftoff at 8:35 p.m. EDT Sunday (0035 GMT Monday).

The next major milestone will be a Launch Readiness Review on Friday.

Everything is on schedule for Sunday's launch of SpaceX's first commercial resupply flight to the International Space Station.

Following Saturday's static fire test, engineers lowered the Falcon 9 rocket and returned it to the hangar. Workers connected the Dragon capsule to the launcher's second stage Sunday.

SpaceX will finish work on the Falcon 9 rocket's destruct system, close out the Dragon spacecraft, and roll the booster to the launch pad early Sunday.

Managers also plan a Launch Readiness Review later this week to give final approval for the countdown and launch.

Liftoff is set for an instantaneous launch opportunity at 8:35 p.m. EDT Sunday (0035 GMT Monday), the moment the Falcon 9's Cape Canaveral launch pad crosses the flight path of the International Space Station.

SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket fired nine main engines on a Florida launch pad Saturday, completing a major test before lifting off on an International Space Station resupply flight Oct. 7.

The two-stage rocket rolled to the launch pad Saturday morning, and a computer-controlled sequence filled the booster with kerosene and liquid oxygen propellants beginning around midday.

The Falcon 9's fuel tanks were pressurized in the countdown's final moments, leading to ignition of the rocket's nine first stage Merlin engines at 1:30 p.m. EDT (1730 GMT).

Read our full story.

SpaceX confirms it completed the Falcon 9 static fire test as planned today.

"We will need to look at data to verify all systems are go for launch, but we completed the static fire test today as planned and on time," a SpaceX spokesperson said.

A cloud of steam and smoke just appeared at the base of the Falcon 9 rocket. Standing by for confirmation of a successful static fire.

Fueling of the Falcon 9 rocket has begun for today's static fire.

The Falcon 9 rocket rolled to the launch pad this morning for a final countdown rehearsal and static fire engine test ahead of liftoff Oct. 7 to the International Space Station.

Ignition of the rocket's nine Merlin first stage engines is expected around 1:30 p.m. EDT (1730 GMT).

Engineers will fill propellant tanks in both stages of the Falcon 9 rocket this afternoon. The stages are powered by Merlin engines burning refined kerosene fuel and liquid oxygen.

The liquid oxygen is stored in a 125,000-gallon sphere in the southeast quadrant of Complex 40. The rocket's RP-1 kerosene fuel is kept in cylinder-shaped tanks on the west side of the pad.

Engineers plan to load nearly 39,000 gallons of super cold liquid oxygen and almost 25,000 gallons of kerosene fuel into the first stage tanks. About 7,300 gallons of liquid oxygen and around 4,600 gallons of kerosene will go into the second stage.

The propellants flow into the first stage through the launch mount at the base of the rocket. Kerosene and liquid oxygen will be pumped up the strongback umbilical tower to enter the second stage.

The last practice countdown was completed Aug. 31, but SpaceX aborted the procedure as planned before ignition of the Falcon 9's engines.

The Falcon 9 rocket's nine Merlin first stage engines will be ignited today for 3.5 seconds, enough time to verify systems on the ground and the launch vehicle responsible for the final few seconds of the countdown.

The engines will be at full power for approximately 2 seconds.

The engines will produce nearly 1 million pounds of total sea level thrust, more than four times the power of a 747 jumbo jet at full throttle. The engines consume about 3,200 pounds of kerosene and liquid oxygen propellants per second, according to SpaceX.

SpaceX says a final pre-launch countdown rehearsal and static fire engine test of the next Falcon 9 rocket is planned Saturday ahead of liftoff Oct. 7 on a resupply mission to the International Space Station.

Rollout of the two-stage launcher from its assembly building to the Complex 40 launch pad at Cape Canaveral will occur Saturday at about 7:30 a.m. EDT (1130 GMT).

The static fire is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. EDT (1730 GMT) Saturday at the conclusion of the countdown, a SpaceX spokesperson said.

The Falcon 9 rocket's nine first stage Merlin engines will ignite and fire at full power for about two seconds.

SpaceX is preparing the Falcon 9 rocket and its Dragon payload to launch Oct. 7 at 8:34 p.m. EDT (0034 GMT on Oct. 8) on the first operational commercial resupply mission to the space station.

The company completed a test run to the orbiting complex in May. It delivered some cargo on the demo flight, but next month's mission is the first of 12 operational logistics flights under a $1.6 billion contract with NASA.

The Dragon capsule will reach the space station Oct. 10.

Managers from NASA and SpaceX on Thursday set Oct. 7 as the target launch date for the first operational commercial cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station.

During a readiness review Thursday, officials gave the green light to the logistics mission after discussing the status of preparations on the ground and aboard the space station.

Liftoff of SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft aboard a Falcon 9 rocket is scheduled for 8:34 p.m. EDT on Oct. 7 (0034 GMT on Oct. 8) from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla.

The unmanned capsule will rendezvous with the space station about two days later, autonomously flying to a point about 30 feet beneath the complex, where astronauts will use a robotic arm to grapple the spacecraft and attach it.

The mission comes after SpaceX's successful demonstration flight in May, during which a Dragon capsule launched to the space station, approached on autopilot, and delivered more than 1,000 pounds of supplies.

The spacecraft returned to Earth on May 31 with nearly 1,400 pounds of cargo.

Pleased with the success of the test flight, NASA officials in August approved SpaceX's next mission to the space station, which will the first of 12 commercial resupply flights under a $1.6 billion contract.