SpaceX Dragon beats Shuttle, Soyuz for launch

The most experienced astronaut on SpaceX’s newly launched crew said Thursday that riding a Dragon capsule into orbit was like being inside the real mythical beast, and a lot more fun than NASA shuttles or flying. Russian.

As for the space crew rookie, he pulled more G, or forces of gravity, from fighter jets flying in the Navy, but they didn’t last as long as on his first “impressive rocket launch.” “, did he declare.

SpaceX delivered its second crew of astronauts to the International Space Station late Monday evening, just 27 hours after launching from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.

In their first press conference from orbit, the four astronauts described Sunday night’s launch and their first impressions of the space station, their new home until spring.

Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi – who has only become the third person to board three types of spacecraft – said that “the Dragon is the best short answer.” He said the Dragon “really wanted to go to space,” something he could feel as the Falcon 9 rocket was energized a few minutes before takeoff and later into launch as the thrusters fired right in front of it. window seat.

“It feels like you’re inside a dragon taking us into space, so it was quite a feeling,” he told reporters.

Victor Glover, the crew’s pilot for the first time in space, said the G-forces gradually developed after the start of the second stage of the rocket.

“In a fighter, you can’t hold 4G for several minutes, most planes can’t,” Glover noted. “I was able to feel that for a few seconds. But having it for an extended period was really amazing.”

Once in orbit, “it’s surreal,” he added. “I saw tons of pictures. But when I first looked at Earth through the window, it’s hard to describe. There are no words … It was a feeling amazing, once in a lifetime. “

The astronauts named their capsule Resilience to give hope not only amid the pandemic, but also the civil and political unrest of the year.

“I hope this makes people look up literally and figuratively,” said Glover, a naval commander who became the first African-American to enter the space station full time.

The astronauts chose a small, plush baby Yoda as their weightlessness indicator for the same reason: “When you see it, it’s hard not to smile,” said Commander Mike Hopkins. The team had started watching the Disney and “Star Wars” television series, “The Mandalorian,” starring Baby Yoda.

“The trip into space was probably a little more difficult than what Baby Yoda was used to,” Hopkins said.

The SpaceX crew – which also includes Shannon Walker – joined another American and two Russians at the orbiting outpost. This is the first time that the space station has simultaneously had seven long-term crew members, which should boost scientific output.

A reporter asked: does it feel crowded?

“It’s very busy. There’s energy here,” said NASA astronaut Kate Rubins, who arrived on a Russian Soyuz capsule a month ago.

NASA turned to SpaceX and Boeing to transport astronauts to the space station from the United States after the shuttle fleet withdrew in 2011, reducing America’s costly reliance on Russian rockets. Boeing is still several months away from launching a crew.

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