Cargo Ship Docks at Space Station

The spacecraft won't be opened until Friday, and the crew won't be able to start unloading it until Saturday. That's how long it will take to clean the air inside the docked vessel, Smith said.

NASA Administrator Michael Griffin applauded the successful automated docking from Washington and said it "marks the arrival of Europe as a full-fledged space power."

European space official expect to launch a supply ship every two years. The ships are not reusable; once unloaded and detached from the space station, they will be directed to fiery re-entries over the Pacific. That's what happens to the smaller Russian supply craft that regularly drop by.

The space station will need to rely on these unmanned spacecraft for supplies, tools and science experiments once NASA's space shuttles stop flying in 2010. Besides Europe and Russia, Japan also will provide supply ships, beginning next year.

Europe's Columbus lab arrived at the space station in February, and the first section of Japan's Kibo lab came on board in March.

Next week, meanwhile, the Russians will launch a new space station crew aboard a Soyuz rocket. Coming home after a six-month mission will be commander Peggy Whitson and her Russian colleague, Yuri Malenchenko.

Related Links:

Irene Klotz's blog: Space Diary

NASA's 50th Anniversary

NASA's space shuttle page

The International Space Station