Just one small step... SpaceX duo reach ISS after a 19-hour flight
NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken had a warm welcome on board the International Space Station – less than a day after lifting off for the world’s first private rocket ride.
The pair spent 19 hours on board the Crew Dragon capsule – supplied and operated by tech giant Elon Musk’s SpaceX – before arriving 16 minutes ahead of schedule.
And last night, after leak and pressure checks, the astronauts were helped through the air lock to meet crew members already on the ISS.
The pair shook hands and hugged Nasa’s Chris Cassidy and Russia’s Anatoli Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner.
‘It’s a great looking photograph so thank you for that,’ mission control told them. ‘You’ve got a whole load of very happy people down here.’
The Crew Dragon flight, which took off from Cape Canaveral in Florida on
Saturday night, is the first time in nine years the US space agency has sent up astronauts from home soil.
SpaceX also made history by becoming the first private company to send humans into orbit. The aim of the mission is to demonstrate SpaceX’s ability to ferry astronauts to the space station and back safely.
Congratulating the teams at Nasa and SpaceX, Mr Hurley said: ‘It’s been a real honour to be just a small part of this nine-year endeavour.’
Meanwhile, after the bell rang to mark the arrival of the capsule, Mr Cassidy said: ‘Bob and Doug – glad to have you as part of the crew.’
The flight is the final major step required by the Crew Dragon to get Nasa certification for long-term manned missions to space. Mr Hurley and Mr Behnken’s mission is expected to last between one and four months.