[7][8] On 6 January 2015, the launch attempt was placed on hold at 1 minute 21 seconds prior to scheduled lift-off after a member of the launch team noticed actuator drift on one of two thrust vector control systems of the Falcon 9 second stage engine.

[11] CATS is a LIDAR remote sensing instrument designed to measure the location, composition and distribution of pollution, dust, smoke, aerosols and other particulates in the atmosphere.

CATS is to be installed on the Kibō module external facility and is expected to run for at least six months, and up to three years.

[13][14] Upon completion of its stay, Dragon was loaded with 1,332 kg (2,937 lb) of outgoing cargo, returning it back to Earth.

Many of the test objectives were achieved, including precision control of the first stage's descent to land on the platform at a specific point in the south Atlantic Ocean and a large amount of test data was obtained from the first use of grid fin control surfaces used for more precise reentry positioning.