The official name of the first space station cargo mission launched on a privately built robotic spacecraft. The unmanned Dragon space capsule, built by the commercial spaceflight firm SpaceX, is the first of its kind, capable of delivering cargo to the International Space Station and then return science experiments and other station gear back to Earth.

The mission is the first of a dozen SpaceX cargo flights under a $1.6 billion contract with NASA for its Commercial Resupply Services program. In this first operational Dragon cargo mission to the International Space Station, capsule is packed with more than 1,000 pounds (454 kilograms) of supplies, food and other vital gear for the station's current three-person Expedition 33 crew. Those supplies include food, clothing, equipment and science experiments, including 23 designed and built by students.