The SpaceX Dragon capsule was approaching the International Space Station Friday for a historic docking after passing a series of tests, NASA mission control said. If all goes well over the coming hours, the first private spacecraft to berth at the 14-year-old station will be captured by the station's robotic arm and pulled into the orbiting laboratory, NASA officials said. The craft had approached to within 150 metres of the station and was to slowly move to within 30 metres over the course of about half an hour as officials with the space agency and the private company SpaceX conducted a series of tests. The robotic arm is then expected to capture Dragon at 1310 GMT and attach it to one of the station's docking ports. Images from the station broadcast live on NASA TV showed the outline of the station's edge and Dragon flying above a cloudy Earth. The delicate maneuver was described in advance of the mission by SpaceX and NASA as the most complicated part of the trip. As it approached, Dragon performed a series of test manoeuvres critical to the supply ship's navigation and communication abilities. The space station astronauts had even established communications when Dragon was still 90 kilometres out, much further out than the 23-to-28 kilometres Couluris had expected.
