Astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley are expected to get off the spacecraft soon, successfully completing the first leg of the SpaceX mission. The astronauts are expected to remain at the International Space Station for one to three months.
The SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft docked at the space station at 10:16 ET Sunday morning after it was launched from the Kennedy Florida Space Center on Saturday and traveled 19 hours. After making initial contact with ISS, Crew Dragon went through a series of steps to further marry the spaceship with its ports – including connecting forces and making air-locked seals – before the hatch was opened.
On Sunday morning, the spacecraft made a cautious approach and then made a “soft capture” – meaning the Dragon Crew made its first physical contact with the docking port on the International Space Station. Crew Dragon then made a “hard catch,” which involved using 12 hooks to create an air-locked seal between the Behnken and Hurley crew cabins and their entrance to the space station and connecting the Crew Dragon power supply to the ISS.
Compared to the high drama launch on Saturday, docking might look like a slow burn.
At one point, the webcast carrier mentioned that Crew Dragon was moving a fraction of a meter per second towards its destination. However, that is only relatively speaking: Both the spacecraft and the space station are still whipping through orbits at more than 17,000 miles per hour (around 27,000 kilometers per hour). But because they were traveling at the same speed, the cameras at the station made it look as though Crew Dragon were inching together.
Crew Dragon has a name: Endeavor
Astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley toured their Crew Dragon spacecraft using onboard cameras, while vehicles headed to the International Space Station on Saturday night.
And they announced the name for the vehicle:
Try hard.
The astronauts chose the name for several reasons, Hurley said on the webcast. On one hand, the name honors the years of efforts to return the human spaceship to the United States after the Space Shuttle retired in 2011. And it honors the old friendship Hurley and Behnken shared, and their history with NASA: The two astronauts began their careers their outer space with missions on the Space Shuttle Endeavor. (The name is an 18th-century ship ordered by the English explorer James Cook – therefore the English spelling of “
Try hard. “)
Special cargo: Sparkling dinosaurs
NASA and SpaceX have revealed that several special artworks are on the Crew Dragon with the astronauts. But the audience immediately saw a small, bright dinosaur toy with Hurley and Behnken as well.
During their renewal of orbit on Saturday, the astronauts shared what it was: They both had young boys who were big fans of dinosaurs, and the astronauts allowed their children to choose where their toys would be stored in this mission.
The choices are blue and pink Apatosaurus, encrusted with sequins.
What this milestone means
Crew Dragon and the astronauts have now made it through two main milestones – launch and docking – without encountering any major problems. It was a big win for SpaceX, which has been working towards this moment since the company was founded in 2002.
This was also a celebration point for NASA, which made a controversial decision to ask the private sector to design vehicles for transportation to the ISS after the Space Shuttlle program retired in 2011. NASA has long partnered with the private sector, but never before. submit design, development, and testing of human-ranked spacecraft to commercial companies.
After delays, development hiccups and some political obstacles, the launch of the first successful astronaut will mark a major victory for people in the space agency who hope to continue to use broader commercial contracts. That includes NASA’s ambition to put people on the moon in 2024.
