Posted on 06/01/2020 8:10:58 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
Nineteen hours after a spectacular Florida launch, SpaceX's Crew Dragon capsule caught up with the International Space Station early Sunday and glided in for a problem-free docking, bringing veteran astronauts Douglas Hurley and Robert Behnken to the outpost in SpaceX's first piloted space flight.
The historic mission marks a major milestone in NASA's push to end the agency's sole reliance on Russian Soyuz spacecraft for carrying astronauts to and from the lab complex, the first piloted launch to orbit by a privately owned and operated spacecraft since the dawn of the space age.
"Welcome to Bob and Doug," NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said to the crew in a call from mission control at the Johnson Space Center. "The whole world saw this mission, and we are so, so proud of everything you've done for our country and, in fact, to inspire the world."
"We sure appreciate that, sir," Hurley replied, floating in the space station's Harmony module, flanked by crewmate Behnken, space station commander Chris Cassidy and Russian cosmonauts Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner.
"It's obviously been our honor to be just a small part of this," he said. "We have to give credit to SpaceX, the Commercial Crew Program and, of course, NASA. It's great to get the United States back in the crewed launch business, and we're just really glad to be on board this magnificent complex."
Following a picture-perfect climb to space Saturday atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, Hurley and Behnken monitored an automated rendezvous with the station Sunday, approaching the lab complex from behind and below.
Executing a precise series of thruster firings, the Crew Dragon looped up to a point directly in front of the station and lined up on the lab's forward docking port, the same one once used by visiting space shuttles.
(Excerpt) Read more at cbsnews.com ...
Not much coverage in the MSM....
RE: Not much coverage in the MSM....
If it bleeds, it leads.
Anyway, for those who want to cast their eyes away from the riots, here are things of interest (i.e., what’s next after the docking ):
https://www.engadget.com/spacex-crew-dragon-docks-with-iss-142250134.html
Astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley have successfully docked the capsule with the International Space Station just under 19 hours after launch from Cape Canaveral. The largely automated process was uneventful. The crew tested manual operation at one point, which they said behaved much like the simulator.
Don’t expect a hasty return after this. Behnken and Hurley are expected to spend weeks aboard the ISS before returning to Earth. The capsule’s solar arrays are only rated for 119 days in space, so it will have to return by the fall no matter how eager the astronauts might be to stay. However long they stay, it’s a historic moment — this is the first time a crewed private spacecraft has docked in orbit. If all goes well, this is an important step toward making space more accessible.
“...Not much coverage in the MSM....”
Of course not...it does not generate DEMOCRAT VOTES...beyond RAT comprehension if there is such a thing.
Both astronauts appear to be white males! How the hell did that happen? Seriously, I’m surprised NASA would allow that.
Watched it on Pluto TV NASA select channel. Cool. Really like the bell and announcing their arrival. Reminds me of a time back in the late 60’s early 70’s. But guess they don’t have a boatswains mate to pipe them arriving. :-)
The y still have to re-enter to atmosphere at 18, 0000 mph and land safely. Then , it will be a successful test.
Children across America should have been following this story and being inspired, instead of watching riots and feeling stressed.
Keep an eye on the cosmonauts doing intel and/or sabotage.
We funeled billions to the Russion communist for years.....most of those years governed by Obama!!!
It’s nice having a version that is under 3 minutes, the other vids are hours in duration.
http://www.google.com/search?q=crew+dragon+dock&tbm=vid
orbital speed of the spacestation is 4.7 miles per second at it’s current altitude or 16,900 miles an hour. The capsule will fire it’s engines to slow down via re-entry burn so it will be slower than 16900 miles as it drops into full re-entry phase. Still will be going fast enough to heat up until the atmosphere thickness slows the capsule enough to allow the deployed shoots to work...will be nerve wracking waiting until they are safely down.
Why should they? Neither they nor DJT’s speech featured mayhem and blood. Therefore no coverage of either.
Millions of Americans have never felt the pride of seeing their astronauts safely return to earth as the striped parachutes flutter open.
I can’t wait to watch.
When my kids were young, my five year old son told my wife he wanted to build rockets at NASA.
Buzz Lightyear and later October Sky and the Right Stuff further informed his interest in space.
She made him a rocket ship birthday cake.
For his 22nd birthday she made him the same cake. The next day, he graduated as an Astronautical Engineer.
He’s currently a flight operations engineer with a satellite mission at NASA.
The new flight suits are amazing. Do they look like Buzz Lightyear’s? Every child in America could be inspired by the SpaceX flight. Instead they are mostly on lock-down and being fed hate-America Propaganda.
I am going to send my grandson the book “October Sky”. Thanks for the reminder about it.
These guys have flown on Shuttle missions—not rookies.
Bob and Doug McKenzie launched to deliver beer to the space station eh.
#12 Bob to Doug: Did you pack the parachutes?
Doug: I thought you did?
!!!
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