NASA announced today that SpaceX will conduct a COTS demonstration flight to dock the Dragon capsule with ISS. The target launch date is February 7 2012. They also announced SpaceX will be allowed to conduct both COTS 2 and 3 demonstrations in the same flight. The demonstrations will include first maneuvering safely near the space station, and finally maneuvering to within a few meters, where the capsule will be engaged by the ISS robotic arm and docked to the station, at which point the capsule will be opened and astronauts will enter the capsule and unload cargo.

The dragon capsule will of course be launched on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. This COTS demonstration flight will be the first privately funded spacecraft in history to dock with ISS. This will also be the first commercial ISS cargo mission, and will pave the way for future manned Dragon flights. The stated goal of Dragon and Falcon 9 has always been to launch astronauts into space, including carrying astronauts to the ISS.

Since the cancelation of the shuttle program, government funded aerospace companies and their supporters in congress have warned the United States would become dependent on foreign space programs for access to the space station. While it’s true the Dragon is not yet certified to carry astronauts, this demonstration flight will show that we are not dependent on foreign powers for access to space. All NASA needs to do is get out of the way and allow American entrepreneurs to do what they are best at – to innovate and build the future!