{"id":17698,"date":"2020-05-31T21:28:30","date_gmt":"2020-05-31T13:28:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/dragon-arriving-for-first-time-astronauts-reach-the-space-station-in-spacex-capsule\/"},"modified":"2020-05-31T21:28:30","modified_gmt":"2020-05-31T13:28:30","slug":"dragon-arriving-for-first-time-astronauts-reach-the-space-station-in-spacex-capsule","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/dragon-arriving-for-first-time-astronauts-reach-the-space-station-in-spacex-capsule\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Dragon arriving\u2019: For first time, astronauts reach the space station in SpaceX capsule"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Crew
A camera mounted on the International Space Station shows SpaceX\u2019s Crew Dragon Endeavour capsule hooked up to a port on the station\u2019s Harmony module. (NASA via YouTube)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For the first time in nearly nine years, astronauts have arrived at the International Space Station in a spaceship that was made in the USA.<\/p>\n

SpaceX\u2019s Crew Dragon capsule, which was christened Endeavour soon after Saturday\u2019s launch from NASA\u2019s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, hooked up with the station at 7:16 a.m. PT today.<\/p>\n

Endeavour brought NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken to the station\u2019s Harmony port, prompting space station commander Chris Cassidy to ring the naval bell that\u2019s part of the tradition for welcoming space crews.<\/p>\n

\u201cDragon arriving,\u201d Cassidy declared.<\/p>\n

The astronauts and NASA mission controllers spent more than two hours conducting leak checks and communication checks, leading up to the opening of the final hatch between Endeavour and the space station at 10:02 a.m. PT. Minutes later, Hurley and Behnken floated through the hatch, hugged their new space station crewmates and lined up for a photo op.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re just really glad to be on board this magnificent complex,\u201d said Hurley, who bumped his head as he came through the hatch.<\/p>\n

\"Space
The astronauts of International Space Station and SpaceX\u2019s Crew Dragon Endeavour line up for a portrait. From left: Russian cosmonauts Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner, NASA space station commander Chris Cassidy, and Endeavour astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley. (NASA via YouTube)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Over a space-to-ground video link, Hurley said he hoped the past week\u2019s achievements would provide a dose of optimism amid the coronavirus pandemic, economic reversals and waves of civil unrest.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is just one effort that we can show for the ages in this dark time that we\u2019ve had over the past several months, to inspire especially the young people of the United States to reach for these lofty goals, and work hard and look at what you can accomplish,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The last time a U.S.-built spaceship carried crew to the space station was in July 2011, during the final space shuttle mission. Hurley was also on that mission, and played a role in leaving behind a U.S. flag that flew on the first shuttle flight.<\/p>\n

For nine years, that flag has been waiting to be picked up by the next crew to launch from Florida. Now Hurley and Behnken have won the right to reclaim the flag and bring it back to Earth.<\/p>\n

Since 2012, SpaceX\u2019s first-generation Dragon capsules have been delivering supplies to the station and bringing shipments back to Earth. And last year, an uncrewed second-generation Crew Dragon visited the station during a demonstration mission. But the current flight, known as Demonstration Mission 2 or DM-2, marked the first time that a spacecraft built and owned by a private company carried crew to orbit and then onward to the station.<\/p>\n