Dragon cargo ship, space station fly in formation

Dragon cargo ship, space station fly in formation

WASHINGTON – The International Space Station and a commercial cargo ship are now locked in an electronic embrace after a series of rendezvous maneuvers brought the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft within sight of the orbiting laboratory on Thursday (May 24).

John Couluris, SpaceX mission director for the Dragon test flight to the space station, said the pioneering commercial space company is now “cautiously optimistic” about Friday’s scheduled docking with the space station. “It’s a test flight,” stressed Couluris, echoing other company and NASA officials who cautioned before Tuesday’s successful launch how difficult the first commercial cargo mission would be. “But right now the mission is looking just like our simulations.”

To achieve rendezvous about 1.5 miles from the space station, NASA and SpaceX conducted about 20 joint simulations over the last 18 months, Couluris said.

The Dragon spacecraft used less thruster fuel than anticipated to catch up with the space station, SpaceX said. “We should be good” on fuel, Couluris added.



The unmanned Dragon spacecraft as seen from the International Space Station after a successful rendezvous on Thursday (May 24). The SpaceX cargo ship is parked about 1.5 miles from the station. (Source: NASA)


TAG:International Space Station Commercial Space Gwynne Shotwell SpaceX NASA XCOR Space