A private spaceship mission to the International Space Station
is on track for a planned April 30 launch, which will mark a
historic first for the orbiting laboratory, NASA officials
announced April 16. The launch will kick off a pivotal
demonstration flight for the unmanned Dragon capsule built by
the company Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) of
Hawthorne, Calif. During the mission, the gumdrop-shaped
spacecraft will rendezvous with the space station, be captured
by astronauts operating a robotic arm and offload some cargo. If
successful, it will be the first time a commercial American
robotic spacecraft has ever flown to the International Space
Station. NASA space station managers and SpaceX officials met
earlier today to review the Dragon spacecraft's readiness for
its debut trip to the orbiting lab. They said the capsule is on
track to blast off in two weeks, but only if a few remaining
issues are resolved. 'Everything looks good as we head towards
the April 30 launch date.' - Bill Gerstenmaier, NAS