Partners on the International Space Station programme have agreed on a new standard for docking systems, which will also be capable of implementing berthing.
The agreement allows a range of compatible, but not necessarily identical, mechanisms for spacecraft docking.
The international docking system standard (IDSS) provides guidelines for a common interface to link spacecraft together.
It builds on the Russian-developed androgynous peripheral attachment system (APAS) used for the space shuttle for "hard docking" and innovative soft-capture features of new Nasa and ESA systems.
Other agencies will be free to choose specific features behind the interface.
ESA director of human spaceflight Simonetta Di Pippo said the docking standard swept away the boundaries for a truly global exploration endeavour.
"It will also make joint spacecraft docking operations more routine and eliminate critical obstacles to joint space exploration undertakings," she said.
"We have been working for a number of years on the development of the international berthing docking mechanism (IBDM) and we are willing to make the IBDM compatible with this new international docking standard."
The IDSS will contain a preliminary description of the physical features and design loads of the standard docking interface.
