The two NASA astronauts who blasted into orbit on a SpaceX rocket successfully docked their Dragon capsule at the International Space Station on Sunday, 19 hours after taking off on the historic journey.
Veteran spacemen Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley gave thumbs-ups after the Dragon arrived at the ISS at 10:16 a.m., a few minutes earlier than planned.
Two hours later, they entered the ISS, joining NASA colleague Chris Cassidy and Russian cosmonauts Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner, who have all been in orbit since April.
“It’s great to get the United States back in the crewed launch business,” Hurley said.
Behnken noted that the brand-new Dragon was “a slick vehicle” — but said the ascent into space was rougher than on the space shuttle, which he and Hurley rode twice.
“[It] was huffing and puffing all the way into orbit,” Behnken said.
In a call from Mission Control in Houston, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine told the pair, “The whole world saw this mission, and we are so, so proud of everything you have done for our country and, in fact, to inspire the world.”
The mission marked the first time in nearly a decade that astronauts have blasted off from US soil. It was also the first time a privately built and owned spacecraft carried astronauts to the ISS in the lab’s 22 years in Earth orbit.
“NASA is not going to purchase, own and operate rockets and capsules the way we used to,” Bridenstine said of the state of the agency last week. “We’re going to partner with commercial industry.”
Hurley and Behnken lifted off Saturday afternoon from Cape Canaveral after an attempt Wednesday was scrubbed by thunderclouds.
NASA has yet to decide how long Hurley and Behnken will spend aboard the ISS. Their stay could be as short as one month or as long as four.
With Wires