SpaceX to launch first docking mission to the ISS

A US spacecraft will once again dock with the International Space Station in February, just seven months after the retirement of the space shuttle. Ditching the 30-year-old shuttles in July left NASA reliant on ISS partner nations for cargo and crew delivery - but for cargo at least an end to that dependency is in sight.

On Friday NASA confirmed that Space X, of Hawthorne, California, will fly one of its uncrewed Dragon orbital capsules on a real ISS docking and resupply mission - rather than sticking to an earlier plan for a low-risk ISS fly-by mission designed merely to test the Dragon's orbital manoeuvring capabilities. That was then to have been followed by a further mission in which the riskier docking manoeuvre would be attempted. But now final approval has been given to an idea - which has been mooted since the summer - of merging the separate missions into one.

It's steady progress since the Falcon9/Dragon combination's first orbital flight and ocean splashdown a year ago that has encouraged NASA and SpaceX to combine fly-by and docking.

"We will accomplish both missions on one flight," says a SpaceX spokeswoman. "If this mission is successful, SpaceX will start to fulfill its cargo resupply contract on the next flight. We've spent months working with NASA to show we are ready."

Doubtless aiding this bold decision is a slightly less risky docking procedure: instead of approaching the pressurised hull of the ISS itself, the uncrewed Dragon will be taking advantage of the novel docking methodology first demonstrated by the Japanese Space Agency's HTV2 uncrewed cargo vehicle: it will be plucked from space by the ISS's robot arm, and then slowly "plugged into" an ISS docking port (QuickTime video). This avoids the puncture risk of a direct approach. However, future manned Dragon flights won't dock by robot.

The rendezvous and docking test flight, scheduled for a 7 February launch from Cape Canaveral, Florida, will also be a live mission in some respects: the Dragon will be carrying hundreds of kilograms of astronaut provisions, SpaceX told New Scientist today.

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SpaceX to launch first docking mission to the ISS

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