{"id":18125,"date":"2019-03-03T19:06:02","date_gmt":"2019-03-03T11:06:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/spacexs-crew-dragon-spaceship-hooks-itself-up-to-space-station-for-first-time\/"},"modified":"2019-03-03T19:06:02","modified_gmt":"2019-03-03T11:06:02","slug":"spacexs-crew-dragon-spaceship-hooks-itself-up-to-space-station-for-first-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/spacexs-crew-dragon-spaceship-hooks-itself-up-to-space-station-for-first-time\/","title":{"rendered":"SpaceX\u2019s Crew Dragon spaceship hooks itself up to space station for first time"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Crew
SpaceX\u2019s Crew Dragon is docked to the International Space Station. (NASA TV via YouTube)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

SpaceX\u2019s Crew Dragon spaceship docked with the International Space Station for the first time today, marking a successful uncrewed rehearsal of the procedure that astronauts will go through when they make their first arrival with the next flight.<\/p>\n

The 27-foot-long spacecraft made contact with a docking adapter on the space station\u2019s Harmony module at 2:51 a.m. PT, as the station flew 250 miles above the Pacific Ocean just north of New Zealand. That \u201csoft docking\u201d was the first step in an hours-long procedure to latch the Crew Dragon securely to the station, hook up power and data connections, and clear the way for hatch opening.<\/p>\n

\u201cCongratulations to all of the teams on a successful docking,\u201d NASA astronaut Anne McClain radioed from the station. The news was greeted with cheers at SpaceX\u2019s headquarters in Hawthorne, Calif.<\/p>\n

Hours later, McClain and her two space station crewmates, Canada\u2019s David Saint-Jacques and Russia\u2019s Oleg Kononenko, donned protective masks \u2014 just in case noxious gases had built up inside the Dragon \u2014 and unlatched the spacecraft\u2019s door at 5:07 a.m. PT. \u201cHouston, Station: Dragon hatch opened,\u201d McClain reported.<\/p>\n

The astronauts then floated inside to take air samples and check out the scene.<\/p>\n

No astronauts were riding the Crew Dragon for this flight. Instead, a spacesuit-wearing, sensor-laden mannequin nicknamed Ripley was placed in one of the seats to document what people would hear and feel during future trips. (The nickname was inspired by Sigourney Weaver\u2019s character in the \u201cAlien\u201d sci-fi movies.)<\/p>\n

The gumdrop-shaped craft also contained about 400 pounds of supplies and equipment, including a little plush toy shaped in the form of a smiling Planet Earth.<\/p>\n

\u201cRipley and Earth both look like they enjoyed their trip up here,\u201d McClain joked.<\/p>\n

During a space-to-ground video ceremony celebrating the docking, McClain said the Crew Dragon\u2019s trip served as a reminder that people from different nations \u201ccan be united by a cause that is not based on fear, threat or a common enemy, but rather on a bold endeavor, an insatiable curiosity to go beyond what is known, and to do what has never been done.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOn behalf of Ripley, Little Earth, myself and our crew, welcome to the Crew Dragon. \u2026 These amazing feats show us not how easy our mission is, but how capable we are of doing hard things,\u201d she said. \u201cWelcome to the new era in spaceflight.\u201d<\/p>\n