SpaceX Crew Dragon Docks With ISS, Ends Nine-Year US Launch Gap
SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft successfully docks with the International Space Station, marking the first crewed orbital launch from the US since 2011. NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley join the existing station crew after a smooth, ahead-of-schedule arrival.
SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft docks with the International Space Station, marking the first time a US-built crewed vehicle visits the orbiting laboratory in nearly nine years. The spacecraft, named Endeavour by NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley, connects to the station's Harmony module 15 minutes ahead of schedule, less than 19 hours after lifting off from Florida on a Falcon 9 rocket.
Behnken and Hurley open the hatches and enter the station to join NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy and Roscosmos cosmonauts Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner. The crew praises the performance of the Crew Dragon, noting that the spacecraft handles exactly like the training simulators used at SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, California.
Despite the smooth docking, the astronauts report a few minor surprises during the launch phase regarding the vehicle's movement and vibrations. The successful docking represents a major milestone for NASA's commercial crew program, officially ending the reliance on Russian rockets for transporting American astronauts to the station since the retirement of the space shuttle in 2011.