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<\/p>\nBefore the Demo-2 mission, only one American crew vehicle had ever carried astronauts to the International Space Station, the Space Shuttle. On Sunday, SpaceX\u2019s Crew Dragon became the second.<\/p>\n
Dragon Endeavour has completed the first half of her round trip mission to the space station. Spacecraft Commander Doug Hurley and Joint Operations Commander Bob Behnken have \u201cCaptured the Flag\u201d as the first crew to reach the ISS from the United States since the last Space Shuttle mission in 2011.<\/p>\n
Endeavour lifted off on a Falcon 9 rocket Saturday, leaving LC-39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 3:22 PM EDT (19:22 UTC). After a flawless ride uphill, Endeavour separated from Falcon 9\u2019s second stage and opened its nosecone. This exposed the spacecraft\u2019s docking port as well as an array of Draco maneuvering thrusters, and began the nineteen hours of tests and maneuvers to rendezvous with the ISS.<\/p>\n
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Falcon 9 lifts off from LC-39A carrying Dragon Endeavour with astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken to the ISS \u2013 via Brady Kenniston for NSF<\/p>\n
Shortly after launch, Endeavour completed a Phase Burn, the first of five burns prior to final approach to the station. These burns are completed using Dragon\u2019s Draco thrusters, SpaceX\u2019s hypergolic reaction control thrusters.<\/p>\n
The crew of Endeavour then took manual control of the spacecraft, marking the first time Crew Dragon has been manually controlled. This was the first of two manual flight tests for Demo-2, testing the \u201cfar-field\u201d maneuvering controls by piloting the spacecraft\u2019s attitude.<\/p>\n
Manually controlling the spacecraft is one of the test objectives that could only be accomplished on a crewed mission. Other systems being tested on Demo-2 are the life support systems and touch displays. After the test, the crew returned Endeavour to autonomous flight.<\/p>\n
The second, \u201cBoost\u201d burn raised Endeavour\u2019s orbital apogee to just 10 kilometers below the ISS\u2019s altitude. This was followed by a \u201cClose Elliptic\u201d burn which raised Endeavour\u2019s orbital perigee to circularize the orbit at this altitude. At this point, the maneuvers for the first flight day of Endeavour\u2019s maiden flight were complete, and her crew were free for an eight hour sleep period.<\/p>\n
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The main phases of flight from launch to docking \u2013 via SpaceX<\/p>\n
During the sleep period, Endeavour autonomously completed the fourth burn, a transfer burn at 4:27 AM EDT (08:27 UTC) in order to raise its apogee even closer to the ISS, just 2.5 kilometers below the station\u2019s altitude. The crew woke up around 5:00 AM EDT (09:00 UTC), which was accompanied by another NASA human spaceflight tradition. Ground controllers played Black Sabbath\u2019s \u201cPlanet Caravan\u201d as the crew\u2019s wake up song.<\/p>\n
The fifth, \u201cFinal Coelleptic\u201d burn occurred at 5:14 AM EDT (09:14 UTC), again circularizing Endeavour\u2019s orbit. This was the final burn prior to approach initiation. The crew donned their spacesuits, and began preparations for docking.<\/p>\n
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Once Dragon Endeavour was 7.5 kilometers behind and below the ISS, at 8:11 AM EDT (12:11 UTC), the spacecraft initiated its approach. This moved the spacecraft into the station\u2019s Approach Ellipsoid, a 4 kilometer by 2 kilometer by 2 kilometer ellipsoid that surrounds the station. Endeavour then proceeded to arrive at waypoint zero, 400 meters directly below the station, at 8:57 AM EDT (12:57 UTC).<\/p>\n
After reaching waypoint one, 220 meters in front of the station, at 9:22 AM EDT (13:22 UTC), the crew conducted the second manual flight test. This time, the crew tested the controls for \u201cnear-field\u201d maneuvering.<\/p>\n