And yet more good news

According to the New York Times, the Jules Verne cargo ship docked with the space station on Thursday. "The Jules Verne, named after the visionary French science fiction author, is the first of a new class of station supply ships called Automatic Transfer Vehicles. The craft was built by the nations of the European Space Agency as one of Europe’s major contributions to the international station." "The docking occurred at the end of a four-hour ballet in space as the A.T.V. maneuvered to approach the station, automatically using GPS navigation and a new optical guidance system to close the gap. A twin laser system fired pulses of light at reflectors positioned on the end of the station’s Russian-built Zvezda service module to determine the Jules Verne’s orientation, distance and closing rate." "The Jules Verne, launched on March 9, spent 26 days in space checking out its systems and awaiting the departure last week of the space shuttle Endeavour before trying to dock with the station. It conducted a series of successful approach and avoidance tests with the station last Saturday and Monday. The cargo craft is carrying 7.5 tons of fuel, oxygen, food, clothing, equipment and other essentials for the station. Astronauts are to open the hatch of the A.T.V. on Friday to take air samples and set up an air cleaner, mission officials said, before entering the vehicle on Saturday. On Monday, the crew will begin transferring cargo from the craft. Also aboard are two original manuscripts handwritten by Verne and a 19th-century illustrated edition of his novel From the Earth to the Moon, which will be returned to Earth. The Jules Verne is to spend about four months docked to the station, with astronauts removing its cargo and depositing tons of waste material that will burn up in the atmosphere with the spacecraft when it departs."