Dragon's hatch
[SatNews] Another high five for the latest successful adventure regarding...
This morning, at 2:53 AM Pacific/5:53 AM Eastern, NASA astronauts stationed on board the International Space Station opened the hatch to SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft. Astronaut Don Pettit opened the hatch and he and Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko, Station Commander, entered the Dragon for initial inspections.
Pettit at the hatch
They were joined at the entrance of the hatch by ESA astronaut Andre Kuipers and Russian cosmonaut Gennady Padalka.
The operation went smoothly and ahead of schedule. Dragon’s interior looked good and Pettit remarked on the vehicle’s new car smell.
SpaceX engineers in Hawthorne, CA are putting Dragon into its final configuration for the duration of its visit to the station. Now the astronauts will get to work unloading the more than 1,000 pounds of cargo before refilling the vehicle with more than 1,400 pounds of cargo that will make the trip home.
Previous mission...
Dragon at Space Station Artist's rendition of the Dragon spacecraft at the International Space Station. Credit: SpaceXDragon as seen by the space station is available at.
[SatNews] He said, "...just awesome."
Today, Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) made history when its Dragon spacecraft became the first commercial vehicle in history to successfully attach to the International Space Station. Previously only four governments—the United States, Russia, Japan and the European Space Agency—had achieved this challenging technical feat.
The vehicle was grappled by the station’s robotic arm at 9:56 a.m. Eastern. Dragon’s passive common berthing mechanism successfully attached to the orbiting laboratory at 12:02 p.m Eastern.
When asked for his initial thoughts on Dragon’s capture and move into the history books, Elon Musk stated, “just awesome.”
Broadcast quality videos, including video inside of the SpaceX factory, may be downloaded at. For NASA TV downlink information, schedules and links to streaming video, visit.
SpaceX CEO and Chief Designer Elon Musk will join NASA Space Station Program Manager Mike Suffredini, NASA COTS Program Manager Alan Lindenmoyer and NASA Flight Director Holly Ridings for a press conference to discuss the remarkable achievement at 1:00 PM Eastern.
This is SpaceX's second demonstration flight under a 2006 Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) agreement with NASA to develop the capability to carry cargo to and from the International Space Station. Demonstration launches are conducted to determine potential issues so that they might be addressed; by their very nature, they carry a significant risk. If any aspect of the mission is not successful, SpaceX will learn from the experience and try again.
Mission Highlights:
- May 22/Launch Day: SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket launched the Dragon spacecraft into orbit from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
- May 23: Dragon orbited Earth as it traveled toward the International Space Station.
- May 24: Dragon’s sensors and flight systems were subjected to a series of complicated tests to determine if the vehicle was ready to berth with the space station; these tests included maneuvers and systems checks in which the vehicle came within 1.5 miles of the station.
- May 25: NASA gave Dragon the GO to attempt berthing with the station. Dragon approached. It was captured by station’s robotic arm and attached to the station.
- May 25 - 31: Astronauts open Dragon’s hatch, unload supplies and fill Dragon with return cargo.
- May 31: Dragon is detached from the station and returns to Earth, landing in the Pacific, hundreds of miles west of Southern California.