SpaceX update: Crew Dragon successfully docks at the ISS.
On Saturday, Elon Musk’s SpaceX lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center’ launchpad 39A in Florida, marking the beginning of a new era for space exploration as it’s the first time in history that a private company launches astronauts into space.
On Sunday May 31st, after a 19-hour trip, the SpaceX’s Crew Dragon arrived at International Space Station at 7:16 am PST successfully latching onto its docking port without any input from its human passengers.
A few hours later, NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Douglas G. Hurley were welcomed onboard by Christopher Cassidy, Expedition 63 Commander currently in charge of the ISS, together with Russian cosmonauts Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner.
This was the first launch of an American spacecraft from the United States soil, with two U.S. NASA astronauts, since the retirement of the Space Shuttles in 2011.
Spectators of the launch from Cape Canaveral Kennedy Space Center included President Trump and Vice President Mike Pence who watched as the countdown ticked to zero from a rooftop close enough to the launchpad 39A.
Now Behnken and Hurley are set to stay on the International Space Station for a period between six and sixteen weeks, depending on NASA’s decisions of how long the mission should last and ISS staffing requirements.
You can experience SpaceX’s official simulator featuring the controls of the actual interface used by NASA astronauts to manually pilot the SpaceX Dragon 2 vehicle to the ISS, here: https://iss-sim.spacex.com
Also, very important…
