Astronauts enter world's 1st private supply ship

This image provided by NASA-TV shows the SpaceX Dragon commercial cargo craft, top, after Dragon was grappled by the Canadarm2 robotic arm and connected to the International Space Station, Friday, May 25, 2012. Dragon is scheduled to spend about a week docked with the station before returning to Earth on May 31 for retrieval.
This image provided by NASA-TV shows the SpaceX Dragon commercial cargo craft, top, after Dragon was grappled by the Canadarm2 robotic arm and connected to the International Space Station, Friday, May 25, 2012. Dragon is scheduled to spend about a week docked with the station before returning to Earth on May 31 for retrieval.

— The space station astronauts have entered the Dragon.

Early Saturday, the crew of the International Space Station slid open the hatch of its new addition, the world's first commercial supply ship. The SpaceX capsule, named Dragon, made history with its arrival Friday.

NASA astronaut Donald Pettit was the first one in. He said it smelled like a brand new car and reminded him of the cargo capability of his pickup truck. Pettit and his crewmates have until the middle of next week to unload Dragon's groceries and refill the capsule with gear for return to Earth.

The California-based SpaceX is the first private company to send a vessel to the space station. NASA is turning over delivery work so it can focus on getting astronauts to asteroids and Mars.

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