[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]SpaceX’s Crew Dragon space vehicle docked at the International Space Station on Sunday morning.
The successful mission brings the U.S. a step closer to using homegrown space shuttles for transporting American astronauts to the International Space Station for the first time since 2011. And for SpaceX, an important test for its ambitions to be a commercial provider of space transport.
SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket topped with the Crew Dragon capsule Saturday morning from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center.
The 16-foot-tall Crew Dragon is outfitted for a seven-person crew, but the test mission carried only a dummy nicknamed “Ripley” after a character from the science fiction movie “Alien.” SpaceX said the dummy is wearing a spacesuit embedded with sensors around its head, neck, and spine to gather data on the conditions to be experienced by human passengers.
In a tweet, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine called the successful launch and docking “a new generation of space flight.”
A new generation of space flight starts now with the arrival of @SpaceX’s Crew Dragon to the @Space_Station. Congratulations to all for this historic achievement getting us closer to flying American Astronauts on American rockets. #LaunchAmerica pic.twitter.com/QMOuE2ecwm
— Jim Bridenstine (@JimBridenstine) March 3, 2019
A crew at the ISS have inspected the capsule and will continue to conduct tests to evaluate its readiness for human cargo. NASA and SpaceX hope to send astronauts on a mission this year.
Watch the webcast below.[/vc_column_text][vc_video link=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ZiqyN4hO5Y&t=2s” video_title=”1″][/vc_column][/vc_row]