SpaceX's Crew Dragon capsule successfully stops at ISS for the first time

Just one day after launching into orbit, SpaceX's new Crew Dragon capsule automatically docked at an International Space Station port this morning, a crucial step in its ongoing test flight. The capsule will need to regularly conduct this docking maneuver as it begins to transport astronauts to and from the ISS.

The Dragon Crew has been in orbit since Saturday around 3 am, when it was launched into space over a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Once it has reached orbit, the tip of the drop-shaped capsule has rotated to open the capsule's home mechanism. When the crew's Dragon approached the station on Sunday, he then used a series of lasers, sensors, and software to automatically dock that material to an available port outside of the station. l & # 39; ISS.

SpaceX sent the crew Dragon to various crossing points outside the station early Sunday morning to test the vehicle's docking capabilities. With the aid of its embedded thrusters, the capsule is periodically approached from the ISS and then maintained its position for two and a half hours. The capsule has even retreated at some point to test the capacity of the spacecraft to retreat in case of emergency. Then, once the dragon's crew was about 20 feet away, the last command was sent to the capsule to dock with the ISS. And at 5:51, the vehicle docked at the dock. A series of hooks is then deployed around the outside of the port to secure the capsule in place.

"We can confirm that the capture is over," said Anne McClain, NASA astronaut and current member of the ISS crew, once the hooks had secured the Crew Dragon. Canadian astronaut David Saint-Jacques, also aboard the ISS, added, "Congratulations, once again, to the huge team around the world that makes this possible."

Image: NASA

This is a new type of process for SpaceX, which has never automatically docked a vehicle to the space station. The company has been launching Dragon cargo capsules on the ISS since May 2012, but all of these vehicles have been moored. A crew member aboard the ISS grabs the capsule with a robotic arm on the station and then moves the Dragon into an available port. Now, the new Crew Dragon has shown that he does not need this kind of contribution from the crew to reach the ISS.

Stowage represents a major breakthrough for the SpaceX and NASA sales teams program. The Dragon Crew is one of two US private vehicles developed to allow NASA astronauts to go and return from the International Space Station one day. Berthing is an essential process to ensure passenger access to the station. Today's demonstration shows that the Crew Dragon is able to bring astronauts safely to the ISS.

With the crew Dragon attached to the ISS, the three crew members aboard the ISS will open the capsule hatch and go inside to greet the clever dummy named Ripley, sitting in one of the four passenger seats. They will also unpack more than 400 pounds of cargo stowed on the Crew Dragon and perform a series of tests on the vehicle in the coming days. The goal is to see how the vehicle manages the space environment and if its design is safe and holds as expected.

Then Friday, SpaceX will send the capsule home and will attempt to land the vehicle with parachutes in the Atlantic Ocean. This landing will mark the last major step of this test mission and will complete the current flight. NASA will then evaluate the performance of the crew dragon during this trip and determine the appropriate time to proceed to the next flight test – a flight that will put two astronauts on board. For SpaceX, this crew test is currently scheduled for this summer, but NASA and the company still have a lot of work to do before this flight starts.