Photos: Falcon takes flight

A slide wire escape system has been undergoing tests at launch pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in readiness for the first SpaceX Crew Dragon flight to carry astronauts to the International Space Station.

SpaceX’s Dragon supply ship reached the International Space Station on Wednesday, with astronaut Jeff Williams grappling the unpiloted spacecraft with the research lab’s robotic arm at 6:56 a.m. EDT (1056 GMT) after an automated rendezvous.

Officials from NASA, research institutions and companies involved in the development and launch of the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite briefed reporters in the mission Sunday, the day before its scheduled liftoff from Cape Canaveral.