CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA likely will allow a risky plan to bring a robot cargo ship back to dock with the International Space Station the day after Christmas.
A Progress spacecraft similar to this one used at the space station Mir is still in use at the International Space Station.
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The cargo ship, called Progress, failed in its first automatic docking in November and had to be steered remotely by station resident Yuri Gidzenko.
The Russian Space Agency said it has fixed a software glitch that caused the automatic docking to fail. Now it wants to test the fix by bringing Progress back to the station.
Progress, which has already unloaded its cargo, would be used as a garbage scow if the test is successful.
NASA resisted the suggestion at first because the maneuver could be dangerous. Officials said the maneuver was an unnecessary risk for the $60 billion international project. Station flight director Jeff Hanley said Friday, however, that the American space agency will soon approve the plan because Russia said it is safe.
"It looks like we are going to accept the re-docking," he said. The docking is planned for 6 a.m. Eastern Standard Time (11:00 GMT) December 26.
The craft had to be jettisoned to make room for shuttle Endeavour. Normally, the capsule would be left to burn up in Earth's atmosphere. This time, though, the craft was parked about 1,000 miles (1,610 kilometers) from the station until Endeavour finished its mission Dec. 11.
The automatic guidance system will bring the ship about 200 yards (183 meters) from the station. From there, Gidzenko will again have to remotely steer the ship to dock. Before this attempt, the remote control option was strictly a backup. Hanley said it might become routine.
A remotely-piloted Progress slammed into the Russian Mir space station in 1997, punching a hole in one module and bending a solar array.
Space analysts have said NASA needs to be exceptionally cautious about the test and suggested NASA demand a halt to the re-docking if the craft loses control at any point in its approach.
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