Private ships preparing to connect with ISS

Dragon, the first private spacecraft to ship into orbit, will pair with the International Space Station (ISS) in the next few hours.

The US Aeronautics Agency (NASA) announced Dragon, SpaceX Group's spacecraft, approaching near ISS after following the station in orbit. When Dragon approached the ISS, the astronauts in the station would "grab" it with the robotic arm and help it join the station via a gate below the station, the BBC reported.

The illustration of the Dragon spacecraft paired with ISS at a gate below the station. (Photo: SpaceX)

Holy Ridings, NASA official in charge of the Dragon's flight, announced that the two objects would begin to pair at 15:30 today GMT (0.30am early in Vietnam time).

"We are excited about the evolution of the flight," Ridings said.

Falcon 9 rocket brought Dragon ship to orbit on May 22. The ship arrived at orbit after 9 minutes since the missile left the launch pad. It then flew around the globe and continuously increased altitude to get close to ISS. When the ship is 2.5 km away from the station, the ship's navigation, control and communication systems have been tried to prepare for the joint effort. Don Petit and Andre Kuipers, two astronauts in the station, ordered to turn a light bulb on to the ship and it met the order.

The Dragon launch is an historic event, because it was the first privately owned spacecraft to fly to the International Space Station (ISS). Until now, spacecraft flying into space were owned by the government. NASA considers Dragon's flight a test. In fact, the spacecraft carries unimportant things in case of an incident. But if it connects successfully with ISS, SpaceX Group will sign a transport contract with ISS. The value of the contract amounted to $ 1.2 billion, with a minimum of 12 flights.

NASA has donated $ 800 million to SpaceX and Orbital Science Corporation - two US technology corporations - for them to develop new-generation boosters and spacecraft. The Orbital Science Corporation has built missiles Antares and Cygnus spacecraft. They will fly into orbit before the last day of 2012.