Dragon reaches the ISS

On 25 May 2012, SpaceX's Dragon capsule was captured by the International Space Station's robotic arm and berthed to the station — the first time a commercially built and operated spacecraft had ever done so. Until that moment, only national space agencies (the US, Russia, Japan and Europe) had reached the ISS.

The COTS Demo Flight 2 mission completed every objective and Dragon splashed down safely in the Pacific days later, demonstrating an end-to-end commercial cargo capability. It opened a new era in which routine resupply of the station — and eventually crew transport — could be bought as a service from private industry.

For NASA, recently retired from the Space Shuttle, it was proof that the commercial model worked. For SpaceX, it was the moment the company graduated from scrappy upstart to indispensable national partner.