14 DAY TRIAL // In this new video released by the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), experts showcase an animation of how the Dragon space capsule will be captured in low-Earth orbit, and then guided to a docking port on the International Space Station.
Since the spacecraft does not feature an automated docking system, like Russian capsules do, it will simply fly very close to the ISS, and wait for the CSA-built Canadarm-2 robotic arm to grapple it. Astronauts on the station have already begun training for this operation.
Dragon is built by Hawthorne, California-based Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SpaceX). The company is also developing the Falcon 9 rocket that will carry the capsule to orbit. The two are scheduled to launch for the ISS on April 30.
The type of docking mechanism SpaceX opted for is very similar to the one used by the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) on its H-II Transfer Vehicles.