In this image provided by NASA, the SpaceX Dragon commercial cargo craft is grappled by the Canadarm2 robotic arm at the International Space Station Friday May 25, 2012. Expedition 31 Flight Engineers Don Pettit and Andre Kuipers grappled Dragon at 9:56 a.m. (EDT) and used the robotic arm to berth Dragon to the Earth-facing side of the station's Harmony node at 12:02 p.m. May 25, 2012. Dragon became the first commercially developed space vehicle to be launched to the station. Dragon is scheduled to spend about a week docked with the station before returning to Earth on May 31 for retrieval. (AP Photo/NASA)
In this image provided by NASA, the SpaceX Dragon commercial cargo craft is grappled by the Canadarm2 robotic arm at the International Space Station Friday May 25, 2012. Expedition 31 Flight Engineers Don Pettit and Andre Kuipers grappled Dragon at 9:56 a.m. (EDT) and used the robotic arm to berth Dragon to the Earth-facing side of the station's Harmony node at 12:02 p.m. May 25, 2012. Dragon became the first commercially developed space vehicle to be launched to the station. Dragon is scheduled to spend about a week docked with the station before returning to Earth on May 31 for retrieval. (AP Photo/NASA)
In this image provided by NASA the SpaceX Dragon commercial cargo craft is grappled by the Canadarm2 robotic arm at the International Space Station May 25, 2012. Expedition 31 Flight Engineers Don Pettit and Andre Kuipers grappled Dragon at 9:56 a.m. (EDT) and used the robotic arm to berth Dragon to the Earth-facing side of the station's Harmony node at 12:02 p.m. Friday May 25, 2012. Dragon became the first commercially developed space vehicle to be launched to the station. Dragon is scheduled to spend about a week docked with the station before returning to Earth on May 31 for retrieval. (AP Photo/NASA)
In this image provided by NASA With darkness, Earth's horizon and thin line of atmosphere forming a backdrop, the SpaceX Dragon commercial cargo craft is grappled by the Canadarm2 robotic arm at the International Space Station. Expedition 31 Flight Engineers Don Pettit and Andre Kuipers grappled Dragon at 9:56 a.m. (EDT) and used the robotic arm to berth Dragon to the Earth-facing side of the station's Harmony node at 12:02 p.m. May 25, 2012. Dragon became the first commercially developed space vehicle to be launched to the station. Dragon is scheduled to spend about a week docked with the station before returning to Earth on May 31 for retrieval. (AP Photo/NASA)
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) ? The world's first commercial supply ship is closed up and ready for a Thursday flight back to Earth from the International Space Station.
Astronauts sealed the hatch to the SpaceX Dragon capsule on Wednesday. It's loaded with 1,400 pounds of experiments and old equipment for return to NASA.
In the pre-dawn hours of Thursday, the astronauts will use the station's robot arm to release the Dragon. The spacecraft will aim for a splashdown in the Pacific later in the morning, about 500 miles southwest of Los Angeles.
The California-based SpaceX is the first private business to launch a spacecraft to the orbiting complex. NASA wants to use the capsule to restock the station's pantry and eventually ferry station astronauts.
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