The unmanned Dragon capsule, built by California-based firm SpaceX, will launch from Florida's Cape Canaveral Air Force Station at 10:10 a.m. EST (1510 GMT) on March 1 and arrive at the orbiting lab a day later.

Dragon will carry about 1,200 pounds (544 kilograms) of supplies and scientific experiments to the station, NASA officials said. It will return to Earth on March 25, splashing down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Baja California with about 2,300 pounds (1,043 kg) of experiment samples and equipment onboard.