The Russian-American crew living aboard the International Space Station welcomed the safe arrival of a cargo-delivery tug Sunday, two days after the freighter aborted its initial rendezvous and sailed by the orbiting complex.

Flying smoothly on autopilot 350 km above Earth, the Progress M-06M spacecraft linked up to the aft docking port of the station's Zvezda service module at 12:17 p.m. EDT/16:17 GMT.

"Docking confirmed...at the four-corner border of Russia, Kazakhstan, China and Mongolia," NASA commentator Rob Navias announced from Houston's Mission Control Center. "The belated arrival of the Progress 38 cargo ship executed perfectly, flawlessly by the KURS automated rendezvous system."

Hooks and latches were engaged a few minutes later to firmly secure the 24-foot-long craft to the station, finally bringing two-and-a-half tons of supplies and equipment to the outpost.