Science
Crew Dragon of SpaceX successfully docks the space station
SpaceX was successfully docked this morning with the International Space Station with SpaceX 's new crew Dragon spacecraft, carrying the company's first crew in space. Their arrival is another important milestone for SpaceX's first Crew Dragon crew mission to take off from Cape Canaveral , Florida yesterday, May 30th.
Now passengers from the Crew Dragon — Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley, NASA astronauts — will continue to live on the ISS for a longer stay of up to four months. They will join three of the crew members who are already on the station: Chris Cassidy of the NASA and Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner of the Russia cosmonauts.
Hurley stated after the completion of the docking "It was a real honor for us to be a small part of that nine-year effort from the last time a space craft from the United States docked with the ISS." "The men and women of SpaceX, Hawthorne McGregor and Kennedy Space Center must be thanked. Their extraordinary efforts to make this happen over the last few years can not be overestimated.
One of the largest features of the capsule was its automatic docking system, the Dragon crew docking system. The car is designed to reach the ISS independently and mount it to a standardized docking port, without any input from its passengers. SpaceX demonstrated this ability successfully last year when the Company sent a Crew Dragon test version to a crewless space station. But the business had to prove this time that when it had its most valuable freight on board, Crew Dragon could deliver.
This automatic docking is a big improvement for Crew Dragon. SpaceX 's cargo dragon, the predecessor of the capsule, had no such capacity to supply and feed the ISS. Astronauts on board the ISS had to use the robotic arm of the station to seize a nearing Dragon cargo for all these cargo missions and take it to the docking port. This technique is called berthing, and the astronauts on the ISS need a lot of practice. The Automated capabilities of Crew Dragon will allow astronauts free time when new crews arrive to work on other items.
In the Crew Dragon astronauts are still able to take over the vehicle manually if necessary. Indeed, during their flight period, Behnken and Hurley attempted some manual flying – once after launch and for the second time on their approach to the space station. The vehicle flies manually with the smart internal touchscreen screens of the Team Dragon. The pressure suits of the SpaceX are tactile-screen compatible and allow the astronauts, if necessary, to communicate with the screens and to adjust.
Hurley revealed that the crew had been able to fly the vehicle while they were gloved before the automatic docking device came to life. The plumes from the small thrusters of the spacecraft could be seen as the vehicle inched towards the ISS from the Space Station cameras.
We dock after the astronauts remained in Crew Dragon for about 19 hours orbiting the Earth after Saturday's launch. Behnken and Hurley announced that their capsule Endeavour had been named, after reaching orbit. "We chose Endeavor for a number of reasons. The first is that since 2011 the end of the Shuttle program was pursued by NASA, SpaceX, and the United States," Hurley said at a special event right after the space launch. "Bob and I have a little more specific explanations why we name it Endeavour. All of them had their first shuttle flights Endeavor, so it meant to take on this label just so far.
During the space journey Behnken and Hurley had a glimpse of how to sleep on the Crew Dragon before approaching the ISS. It happens, this is a convenient nap place. Behnken said at one case before arriving at the ISS, "We had a good night's sleep last night. "We were, I assume, a little bit more environmentally friendly, I thought we were sleeping on the car – a little quieter than Space Shuttle." Crew Dragon even boasts a toilet in the event that they had to use the facilities during the ride (although they didn't tell us that they used it).
Docking took place this morning at 10:29 AM ET, now a little waiting until Hurley and Behnken exit the car. At approximately 12:45 p.m. ET, the astronauts must open the Crews Dragon. Around 30 minutes later, the crew will then hold a small ceremony.
Now Behnken and Hurley are at the ISS, when they should come around, it's uncertain. The two will remain in the ISS for about six to 16 weeks. All depends on how much NASA does while they're there. NASA will choose to send the duo home at some point. Behnken and Hurley are going to get back into the Dragon team and take the plunge back to Earth
The Crew Dragon has a heat shield for astronauts to protect them from the sparking ride across the atmosphere of Earth. Four parachutes are also available to help lower crews gently descend into the Atlantic Ocean, where a vessel SpaceX can recover. The vigorous journey is a final check for NASA 's crew dragon in the Commercial Crew system of the agency and the project to fly NASA astronauts to and from the space station via private vehicles.
For now, as the first half of this vital test mission is complete, SpaceX and the crew dragón are given little retreat.
The Crew Dragon will search when docking on the ISS, but mostly remains inert, like a parked car in a large amount. If Behnken and Hurley come home, everybody's eyes can again see the success of the Crew Dragon.
