Last week's Dragon launch and re-entry went so well that Space-X is requesting permission from
NASA to jump the schedule and move forward to an
ISS docking mission on the next launch by the middle of next year. I believe the original plan for the next launch was for a near approach to the station without an actual docking.
It may even be possible to make an actual supply mission to the station by the end of the year if this succeeds.
“I feel highly confident that we can go to the space station on our next flight and that we can do so by approximately the middle of next year. It’s really a relatively small delta between this vehicle and the one that will go to station,” Musk said.
“We’ll certainly give it good consideration,” echoed Alan Lindenmoyer, NASA manager of the Commercial Crew and Cargo Program Office at the Johnson Space Center. Their comments followed the Dec. 8 orbital debut of Dragon, a 3-hr., 19-min. mission Musk termed “mind-blowingly awesome.”
http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/generic/ ... ine=SpaceX Sees
ISS Meet-up in 2011
