CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP)– SpaceX provided 2 astronauts to the International Space Station for NASA on Sunday, following up a historic liftoff with an equally smooth docking in yet another very first for Elon Musk’s company.
With test pilots Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken poised to take over manual control if needed, the SpaceX Dragon capsule brought up to the station and docked instantly, no assistance needed.
It was the very first time a privately constructed and owned spacecraft brought astronauts to the orbiting laboratory in its almost 20 years. NASA considers this the opening volley in a business transformation surrounding Earth and eventually extending to the moon and Mars.
The docking happened just 19 hours after a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched Saturday afternoon from Kennedy Area Center, the nation’s very first astronaut launch to orbit from home soil in almost a years.
Thousands jammed surrounding beaches, bridges and towns to view as SpaceX became the world’s very first private business to send astronauts into orbit, and ended a nine-year launch dry spell for NASA.
A few hours prior to docking, the Dragon riders reported that the pill was performing perfectly. Simply in case, they slipped back into their pressurized launch fits and helmets for the rendezvous.
The three space station residents kept cameras trained on the inbound capsule for the b