SpaceX's Dragon capsule has successfully locked to the International Space Station (ISS) on Sunday, SpaceX and NASA confirmed during a live broadcast. 

The spacecraft attached to ISS via "soft capture" at 5:51 a.m. Eastern Time (10:51 GMT) after 27 hours after the capsule's launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral in Florida.

The mission is a test launch with only a dummy on board the capsule ahead of a manned flight scheduled for later this year.

This is the first time for the U.S. to use a commercial spacecraft for its manned space mission.

Hours later, crew members are expected to open the capsule's hatch and hold a welcome ceremony for the craft.

(With inputs from agencies)