Space

SpaceX's Crew Dragon makes history with successful docking at the ISS

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Mission control watches on as the Crew Dragon prepares to dock with the ISS
NASA/Joel Kowsky
NASA astronauts Douglas Hurley and Robert Behnken prepare for the docking maneuver with the ISS
NASA
Mission control watches on as the Crew Dragon prepares to dock with the ISS
NASA/Joel Kowsky
US President Donald Trump address the crowd following the successful launch of the Demo-2 mission
NASA/Bill Ingalls
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk recieves an ovation following the successful launch of the Demo-2 mission
NASA/Bill Ingalls
The Demo-2 mission lifts off
NASA
SpaceX Crew Dragon is blasted into space aboard the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket
NASA/Joel Kowsky
NASA astronauts Douglas Hurley and Robert Behnken travel to the launchpad ahead of the Demo-2 mission
NASA
The Demo-2 mission that successfully lifted off on Saturday made history as the first commercial mission to carry astronauts to orbit
NASA/Joel Kowsky
NASA
NASA
View gallery - 10 images

SpaceX’s Crew Dragon has continued charting its history-making course through space by successfully delivering astronauts to the International Space Station, becoming the first privately built spacecraft to do so. The two NASA astronauts aboard the flight have now joined the crew aboard the orbiting laboratory, where they will spend some time before hopping back into the Crew Dragon capsule and making a break for home.

The Demo-2 mission that successfully lifted off on Saturday made history as the first commercial mission to carry astronauts to orbit. It was also the first time NASA has launched a crewed mission from US soil since the retirement of the Space Shuttle in 2011.

While a monumental achievement for NASA and SpaceX, which was founded in 2002 and has very public ambitions of one day launching crewed missions all the way to Mars, there remains some ways to go before Demo-2 is hailed a total success.

But at 1:02pm ET, less than 24 hours after launch, the mission took another significant step forward, with spacecraft commander Douglas Hurley and joint operations commander Robert Behnken entering the ISS from a privately built spacecraft for the first time in history.

The Demo-2 mission that successfully lifted off on Saturday made history as the first commercial mission to carry astronauts to orbit
NASA/Joel Kowsky

This followed an autonomous docking procedure that will see the Crew Dragon parked at the ISS for at least a month. During its stay, the crew will carry out tests on the Crew Dragon along with other research projects aboard the ISS. The mission duration is still to be determined, but once concluded Hurley and Behnken will climb back into the capsule and have it autonomously undock and make its way back to Earth.

This will mark another nail-biting test for SpaceX and NASA, with the Crew Dragon to fly through Earth’s atmosphere and make a splashdown off the coast of Florida. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has described this part of the mission as his “biggest concern,” according to Business Insider, owing to an asymmetrical design of the spaceship and a minor chance of rotation as it flies through the atmosphere at many times the speed of sound.

NASA astronauts Douglas Hurley and Robert Behnken prepare for the docking maneuver with the ISS
NASA

Crew Dragon is expected to remain docked with the ISS for at least a month, and while the exact length of its stay is yet to be decided, the spacecraft used for Demo-2 is capable of remaining in orbit for 110 days.

To check out some of the imagery from the mission so far, have a flick through the photo gallery.

Source: NASA, SpaceX

View gallery - 10 images
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1 comment
Douglas E Knapp
Are you kidding me? The, "public ambitions of one day launching crewed missions all the way to Mars", is not their BIG goal, they will build a CITY on Mars! Listing a crewed mission to Mars as their goal is almost disrespectful and clearly an ignorant sounding statement about SpaceX.

Taken straight from their website, "“SpaceX designs, manufactures and launches advanced rockets and spacecraft. The company was founded in 2002 to revolutionize space technology, with the ultimate goal of enabling people to live on other planets.”

So their goal is not a manned mission to Mars but COLONIZE MARS; AND, to do it in the next few years! Now, that's a goal fitting to SpaceX.