Jun 1, 2020
Astronauts describe ride to space aboard SpaceX Crew Dragon
Posted by Genevieve Klien in category: space travel
SpaceX Crew Dragon astronauts say the ship is living up to high-tech expectations — but there was one rougher moment.
SpaceX Crew Dragon astronauts say the ship is living up to high-tech expectations — but there was one rougher moment.
Following a dramatic launch, 19-hour voyage and successful docking procedure, pioneering astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley have left the Crew Dragon and are now aboard the International Space Station (ISS). The pair emerged from the Crew Dragon capsule at around 1:15 PM ET and were greeted with bear hugs by astronaut Christopher Cassidy and cosmonauts Anatoli Ivanshin and Ivan Vagner. While describing the ride as less smooth than the space shuttle, Hurley said he “couldn’t be happier” about the Crew Dragon’s performance.
The astronauts, who christened the Crew Dragon “Endeavor,” chatted with NASA executives after their arrival. “It’s great to get the United States back in the crewed launch business,” said Hurley. “And we’re just really glad to be onboard this magnificent complex.” Earlier, SpaceX founder Elon Musk said he was “quite overcome with emotion,” adding “this is hopefully the first step on a journey towards civilization on Mars.”
The Dark matter engine is the key to the extreme acceleration capabilities of the modern space ship. Invented by Professor Hubert J. Farnsworth, the engines on the Planet Express ship harness the power created by burning dark matter in large furnaces, channels it through an afterburner that gives 200% fuel efficiency and propelles the ship through space fast enough to cover the whole universe in a matter of days.
How it works Edit
Let’s look at the real universe example of Rigel, a star in Orion’s Belt approximately 900 light-years away from Earth. This means that even traveling at the speed of light (300,000 km/s) it would take 900 years to get there. Traveling at 9 times the speed of light (2,700,000 km/s) it would take 100 years to get there and at 100 times the speed of light (30,000,000 km/s) it would take nine years. Albert Einstein’s famous statements that it would be mathematically impossible to travel faster than light seem to have held up through out the 3rd millennia and although in 2208 the scientific community allegedly raised the speed of light so that they could go faster, the problem that one cannot go faster than the speed of light remains.
Liftoff!
SpaceX delivered two astronauts to the International Space Station for NASA on Sunday, following up a historic liftoff with an equally smooth docking in yet another first for Elon Musk’s company.
With test pilots Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken poised to take over manual control if necessary, the SpaceX Dragon capsule pulled up to the station and docked automatically, no assistance needed. The hatches swung open a few hours later, and the two Dragon riders floated into the orbiting lab and embraced the three station residents.
Continue reading “SpaceX’s historic encore: Astronauts arrive at space station” »
Elon Musk’s “biggest concern” is reentry — the final stage of SpaceX’s biggest mission for NASA, when its astronauts must hurtle back to Earth.
#ICYMI: NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley aboard the SpaceX Dragon Endeavour arrived at the International Space Station and docked today, May 31, 2020, at the station’s Harmony port at 10:16 a.m. ET.
Following soft capture, 12 hooks were closed to complete a hard capture at 10:27 a.m. ET.
This morning, SpaceX’s new Crew Dragon capsule successfully docked with the International Space Station, bringing the company’s first crew to the orbiting outpost. Their arrival marks another major milestone for SpaceX’s first crewed mission of the Crew Dragon, which successfully took off yesterday, May 30th, from Cape Canaveral, Florida.
Russia has lost its long-held monopoly as the only country able to ferry astronauts to the International Space Station following the flawless manned launch by US company SpaceX.
The Russian space agency congratulated the United States and Elon Musk’s SpaceX on the first crewed flight ever by a private company, but experts said the launch should be a wakeup call for Roscosmos.
“The success of the mission will provide us with additional opportunities that will benefit the whole international programme,” cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev, Roscosmos executive director for crewed space programmes, said in a brief video address.