After a 19-hour ride aboard the new SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft, NASA astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley docked to the International Space Station May 31, inaugurating a new era of human spaceflight aboard a commercial spacecraft. The Crew Dragon automatically linked up to the international docking adapter at the forward end of the station’s Harmony module, setting the stage for a greeting by Expedition 63 Commander Chris Cassidy of NASA and Russian crewmates Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner. The arrival of Hurley and Behnken expanded the Expedition crew on board the orbital outpost. Hurley and Behnken launched on the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, May 30, commencing an historic mission for NASA’s Commercial Crew Program almost nine years after the retirement of the space shuttle.
In this video, NASA astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley take viewers on a tour of the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft that will take them on a 19-hour-journey to their new home in orbit. The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon spacecraft successfully launched from Kennedy Space Center’s historic Launch Pad 39A at 3:22 p.m. EDT on May 30 with the astronauts aboard for a mission to the orbiting laboratory. Crew Dragon will perform a series of phasing maneuvers to gradually approach and autonomously dock with the International Space Station on Sunday, May 31, at approximately 10:29 a.m. EDT. Learn more about the mission by visiting https://www.nasa.gov/launchamerica
NEWLY ARRIVED NASA ASTRONAUTS ON SPACE STATION GREETED BY VIPS
Within hours after docking to the International Space Station aboard their new SpaceX Crew Dragon craft “Endeavour” May 31, NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken floated aboard the orbital outpost and were greeted by Expedition 63 Commander Chris Cassidy of NASA and Russian crewmates Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner. A short time later, Hurley and Behnken received congratulatory calls from NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Rep. Bruce Babin (R-Texas), Johnson Space Center Director Mark Geyer and JSC Deputy Director Vanessa Wyche, who viewed the docking from Mission Control, Houston. Almost nine years after the retirement of the space shuttle, the launches of American astronauts on American spacecraft from American soil resumed with Hurley and Behnken launching on the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida May 30.