Monday, June 1, 2020

SpaceX Dragon, With Crew, In Historic Launch And Docking

In a historic first, Hawthorne, California-based SpaceX had a successful launch, and subsequent docking, of a SpaceX Dragon capsule--the Endeavor--with the International Space Station. The launch on Friday went off without a hitch, and the SpaceX Dragon docked with the ISS, delivering Astronauts Bob Behnken and Col. Doug Hurley to the ISS at 10:16 a.m. ET. The successful launch and docking is the first time that the United States has delivered astronauts from its own soil, using U.S. vehicles, since the retirement of the Space Shuttle. The SpaceX Dragon spent 19 hours orbiting the earth before berthing with the ISS. Behnken and Hurley are expected to spend between six and 16 weeks aboard the ISS; the return date for the SpaceX Crew Dragon has not been specified yet by NASA.