CAPE CANAVERAL: SpaceX’s newly launched capsule with four astronauts arrived at the International Space Station on Monday, its new home until spring.
The Dragon capsule came to a stop and docked on Monday night, following a fully automated 27-hour flight from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.
“Oh what a good voice to hear,” screamed space station astronaut Kate Rubins when the Dragon’s commander, Mike Hopkins, made radio contact for the first time. The link occurred 262 miles (422 kilometers) over Idaho.
This is SpaceX’s second astronaut mission. But it is the first time that Elon Musk’s company has delivered a team for a full half-year stay at the station. The test flight of two pilots earlier this year lasted two months.
The three Americans and a Japanese astronaut will remain in the orbiting lab until their replacements reach another Dragon in April. And so it will continue, with SpaceX and eventually Boeing transporting astronauts to and from the NASA station.
This regular taxi service got under way with the launch on Sunday night.
Hopkins and his crew Victor Glover, Shannon Walker and Japan’s Soichi Noguchi join two Russians and an American who flew to the space station last month from Kazakhstan. Glover is the first African American to move in for a long time. Glover, a newcomer to space, received his gold astronaut badge on Monday.
All four named their capsule Resilience to bring hope and inspiration during an especially difficult year for everyone. They broadcast a tour of their capsule on Monday, showing off the touchscreen controls, storage areas, and their zero-gravity gauge – a little stuffed Baby Yoda.
Walker said it was a bit stricter for them than it was for the two astronauts on the test flight.
“Like we dance with each other to stay out of the way,” he said.
For Sunday’s launch, NASA kept guests to a minimum due to the coronavirus, and even Musk had to stay away after tweeting that he “most likely” had an infection. He was succeeded in his official launch duties by SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell, who assured reporters that he was still heavily involved in the action on Sunday night, albeit remotely.
As they prepared for the space station connection, the Dragon crew broadcast live views of New Zealand and a bright blue, cloud-streaked Pacific 250 miles below.
“It looks amazing,” Mission Control radioed from SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, California.
“It looks amazing from here too,” Hopkins replied.
The Dragon capsule came to a stop and docked on Monday night, following a fully automated 27-hour flight from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.
“Oh what a good voice to hear,” screamed space station astronaut Kate Rubins when the Dragon’s commander, Mike Hopkins, made radio contact for the first time. The link occurred 262 miles (422 kilometers) over Idaho.
This is SpaceX’s second astronaut mission. But it is the first time that Elon Musk’s company has delivered a team for a full half-year stay at the station. The test flight of two pilots earlier this year lasted two months.
The three Americans and a Japanese astronaut will remain in the orbiting lab until their replacements reach another Dragon in April. And so it will continue, with SpaceX and eventually Boeing transporting astronauts to and from the NASA station.
This regular taxi service got under way with the launch on Sunday night.
Hopkins and his crew Victor Glover, Shannon Walker and Japan’s Soichi Noguchi join two Russians and an American who flew to the space station last month from Kazakhstan. Glover is the first African American to move in for a long time. Glover, a newcomer to space, received his gold astronaut badge on Monday.
All four named their capsule Resilience to bring hope and inspiration during an especially difficult year for everyone. They broadcast a tour of their capsule on Monday, showing off the touchscreen controls, storage areas, and their zero-gravity gauge – a little stuffed Baby Yoda.
Walker said it was a bit stricter for them than it was for the two astronauts on the test flight.
“Like we dance with each other to stay out of the way,” he said.
For Sunday’s launch, NASA kept guests to a minimum due to the coronavirus, and even Musk had to stay away after tweeting that he “most likely” had an infection. He was succeeded in his official launch duties by SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell, who assured reporters that he was still heavily involved in the action on Sunday night, albeit remotely.
As they prepared for the space station connection, the Dragon crew broadcast live views of New Zealand and a bright blue, cloud-streaked Pacific 250 miles below.
“It looks amazing,” Mission Control radioed from SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, California.
“It looks amazing from here too,” Hopkins replied.
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