SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule carrying NASA astronauts docks with the International Space Station
- SpaceX launched its first humans into space -veteran NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley.
- The astronauts caught up to the International Space Station inside their Endeavour spaceship — their new name for SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft — and docked it there.
- The docking marks a big milestone in the Demo-2 mission, as it’s called; Behnken and Hurley can now stay and work in space for up to 110 days before having to return home.
- The docking is also the first time a crewed private spaceship has linked up to the $150 billion orbiting laboratory.
- NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley have once again helped make history for SpaceX, the rocket company founded by Elon Musk, by docking to a football field-size laboratory above Earth.
- After careening into space on Saturday atop a Falcon 9 rocket, the astronauts’ spaceship — a Crew Dragon capsule they later named “Endeavour” — disconnected from its launcher and entered orbit. The ship then completed a series of engine burns to catch up to the International Space Station (ISS), which orbits about 250 miles above the planet’s surface while traveling 17,500 mph.
- Behnken and Hurley finally caught up to their target. Endeavour flew below the $150 billion orbiting laboratory, later pulling up to a stopping point about 220 meters in front of the space station.
- The two men then spent a few minutes manually controlling the ship’s thrusters through touchscreens while connected to NASA’s Johnson Space Center and SpaceX’s headquarters in Hawthorne, California.
About SpaceX –
- Space Exploration Technologies Corp., trading as SpaceX, is an American aerospace manufacturer and space transportation services company headquartered in Hawthorne, California. It was founded in 2002 by Elon Musk with the goal of reducing space transportation costs to enable the colonization of Mars.
- Founded – 2002
- Founder – Elon Musk
- Headquarters – California, US
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