Inside the International Space Station is a big red button with a plastic cover. It means only one thing if the astronauts press it: their lives are in danger.

It's the button to abort the pending arrival of a new European-made cargo carrier, the Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV), which is now hurtling toward the space station. How well the engineering on that ship works is a life-or-death matter for the station's three residents.

The unmanned spacecraft is scheduled to make an automated docking at the station Thursday at 9:40 a.m. ET. There's no way for the astronauts to seize control — as they can during the docking of the Russian automated cargo ship, the Progress. If the ATV's systems fail, it could crash into the station and puncture it. Then the crew's air could hiss into outer space.

....click the link to read more