Yesterday they successfully launched two astronauts into space, and after 19 hours from that moment, today's another monumental moment for SpaceX and NASA.?
SpaceX¡¯s Crew Dragon (Dragonship Endeavour) capsule with NASA astronauts Robert Behnken (49) and Douglas Hurley (53) has successfully docked into the International Space Station spinning 400 km above the earth.?
This was the first launch from America in nine years, carrying American astronauts in an American spacecraft. Up until now, NASA had been sending its astronauts aboard the Soyuz rockets developed by the Russian Space Agency.?
This was also SpaceX¡¯s first manned mission carrying astronauts to the International Space Station. It has however had several successful docking missions while delivering the cargo aboard the ISS over the past few years.?
Aboard the spacecraft were astronauts Robert Behnken (49) and Douglas Hurley (53). They completed their journey on a Falcon 9 rocket -- a semi-reusable rocket module that also safely landed back after the first stage of the launch completed.?
They¡¯ll be spending quite a few weeks aboard the ISS, before returning back to Earth in the Crew Dragon?(Dragonship Endeavour)?capsule.
The Crew Dragon?(Dragonship Endeavour) capsule?is an all-automated spacecraft, meaning that that the docking sequence was done automatically without the intervention of the astronauts -- just like one of Tesla¡¯s autopilot electric cars. This eliminates errors and chances of accidents, making it safe for astronauts not just on the Crew Dragon but also the International Space Station.?
Dragonship "Endeavour" was the name given by the astronauts to the Crew Dragon capsule after they completed their first manual flight test using touchscreen controls on the SpaceX¡¯s new crew capsule.
The docking sequence completed 19 hours after the spacecraft reached the orbit, with the spacecraft travelling at an average speed of 17,500 kilometres per hour. Just to put things into perspective, ISS is travelling at a speed of 27,580 kilometres per hour.
In this time, the astronauts changed from their spacesuits, had dinner, and even took a brief nap. They¡¯re carrying with them some cargo for the ISS astronauts including food, medical supplies, equipment to conduct experiments etc.?
The launch was initially slated for May 27, 2020. However, due to bad weather conditions, the launch was scrubbed less than 15 minutes before the launch.?
The launch took place from the at Kennedy Space Centre in Cape Canaveral, Florida from launchpad 39A -- the same launchpad that was used for the Apollo Moon missions.
The success of this mission paves the way for affordable space travel, increased manned flights to space beyond just the International Space Station, which is the founding vision of Elon Musk¡¯s SpaceX space company.?