A SpaceX capsule that could be astronauts’ next ride to orbit from the United States safely reached the International Space Station early Sunday, completing a flawless…
A SpaceX capsule that could be astronauts’ next ride to orbit from the United States safely reached the International Space Station early Sunday, completing a flawless daylong voyage from Kennedy Space Center on its first test flight.
The Crew Dragon eased into a docking port at 5:51 a.m., becoming the first privately designed and operated spacecraft capable of flying to people to visit the outpost.
The station had not hosted a U. S. crew ship for nearly eight years, since Atlantis on NASA’s final space shuttle mission in July 2011. Since then, only Russia’s Soyuz has flown astronauts up and down.
“Soft capture confirmed,” NASA astronaut Anne McClain radioed from inside the station, as the two spacecraft flew 260 miles above Earth north of New Zealand. “Congratulations to all of the teams on a successful docking.”
Flight controllers cheered at SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, California, and at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.
Latches closed to firmly fasten the Crew Dragon to its port. A little after 8 a.
