Skip to main content

SpaceX's new 'Endeavour' spaceship just made history by docking to the International Space Station with 2 NASA astronauts inside

* SpaceX on Saturday launched its first humans into space: veteran NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley. * On Sunday morning, the astronauts caught up to the International Space Station inside their Endeavour spaceship — their new name for SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft — and docked it there. * The docking marks a big milestone in the Demo-2 mission, as it's called; Behnken and Hurley can now stay and work in space for up to 110 days before having to return home. * The docking is also the first time a crewed private spaceship has linked up to the $150 billion orbiting laboratory. * Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley have once again helped make history for SpaceX, the rocket company founded by Elon Musk, by docking to a football field-size laboratory in space. After careening into space on Saturday atop a Falcon 9 rocket, the astronauts' spaceship — a Crew Dragon capsule they later named "Endeavour" — disconnected from its launcher and entered orbit. The ship then completed a series of engine burns to catch up to the International Space Station (ISS), which orbits at about 250 miles above Earth's surface.  On Sunday morning, Behnken and Hurley finally caught up to their target as it traveled 17,500 mph over the planet. Endeavour flew below the $150 billion orbiting laboratory, later pulling up to a stopping point about 220 meters in front of the space station. The two men then spent a few minutes manually controlling the ship's thrusters through touchscreens while connected to NASA's Johnson Space Center and SpaceX's headquarters in Hawthorne, California. "It flew just about like the [simulator], so my congratulations to the folks in Hawthorne. It flew really well, very really crisp," Hurley said during a live webcast, adding that its handling was "a little sloppier" in an up-down direction, though as expected. Behnken and Hurley then turned Endeavour's autopilot back on, and the spacecraft ever-so-carefully flew itself toward a docking port called Node 2, located at the forward end of the space station. The ship's docking mechanism connected to the node at 10:16 a.m. ET while flying over northern China and Mongolia. Latches on the ship then tightly sealed Endeavour to the ISS, allowing the crews to begin a roughly two-hour-long hatch-opening procedure. 'A new chapter in human space exploration' SpaceX's docking at the ISS is the first by a privately developed spaceship with a crew on board. The last time an American spaceship attached to the space station was July 2011 — the flight of space shuttle Atlantis, a mission that Hurley flew on. "It's been a real honor to be a super-small part of this nine-year endeavor, since the last time a United States spaceship has docked with the International Space Station," Hurley said shortly after docking. "We have to congratulate the men and women of SpaceX at Hawthorne, McGregor, and at Kennedy Space Center. Their incredible efforts over the last several years to make this possible cannot go overstated." Hurley then thanked NASA's staff, after which the ISS commander and astronaut Chris Cassidy rang a ceremonial bell while welcoming Behnken and Hurley. NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, where US mission control for the ISS is based, then chimed in with its own congratulations. "Endeavour this is Houston. Bob and Doug, welcome to the International Space Station," said Joshua Kutryk, a Canadian Space Agency astronaut in the control room, calling the crew's flight a "historic ride" and a "magnificent moment in spaceflight history." "You have opened up a new chapter in human space exploration," he added. An historic 110-day test mission begins in earnest The successful docking means Behnken and Hurley have a home in space for up to the next 110 days. When their stay ends, the astronauts will climb back into the Endeavour, disembark from the ISS, and careen back to Earth. The goal of the test mission, called Demo-2, is to show SpaceX's ship is safe to fly people. If NASA determines it is, then the agency can fully staff the space station with astronaut crews and maximize its ability to perform research. SpaceX, meanwhile, will gain the ability to fly private astronauts to space. The crews of Endeavour and the ISS are now working to pressurize the hatches. If all goes according to plan, the astronauts in Crew Dragon and the Expedition 63 crew of the ISS will open the hatches around 12:45 p.m. ET, then perform a greeting ceremony around 1:15 p.m. ET, according to NASA TV. However, the docking appears to be running about 15 minutes ahead of schedule. We'll update this story as the docking progresses. Watch the hatch opening live:   This is a developing story. SEE ALSO: Why SpaceX's launch for NASA is such a big deal for Elon Musk's rocket company and the US as a whole DON'T MISS: NASA calculated how risky SpaceX's first launch of humans could be, and the astronauts flying the space mission say they're 'really comfortable' with those odds Join the conversation about this story » NOW WATCH: Why NASA waited nearly a decade to send astronauts into space from the US
https://bit.ly/2BjHBuu

Popular posts from this blog

SpaceX has a 'go' from NASA to return 2 astronauts to Earth on Sunday as Hurricane Isaias threatens several Florida splashdown locations

* NASA on Saturday gave SpaceX a "go" to undock the company's first crewed space mission, called Demo-2, and land it on Sunday evening. * Hurricane Isaias complicated original plans to return two astronauts to Earth aboard SpaceX's Crew Dragon spaceship in the Atlantic Ocean. * Elon Musk's aerospace company may now try to splash down NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley in the Gulf of Mexico. * Two out of seven total landing sites near Florida must have good weather conditions, and NASA has until about 5 p.m. ET on Saturday to call off the undocking. * Should the weather worsen, NASA and SpaceX can try again a day later or some other date over the next two months. * Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. Astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley have a "go" to return to Earth this weekend and wrap up an historic space mission for both NASA and SpaceX.  Behnken and Hurley launched to orbit aboard SpaceX's Crew Dragon vehic...

Here's an exclusive look at the pitch deck London fintech Lanistar used to raise $19 million at a $190 million valuation

* London-based fintech startup Lanistar has raised a £15 million ($19 million) funding round from Milaya Capital.  * Founded in 2019, Lanistar is building a personal financial management platform that will launch later in 2020.  * "We're expecting a huge amount of growth upon our launch and have already seen strong interest among our sign ups," Gurhan Kiziloz, founder and CEO of Lanistar, told Business Insider. * Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.  The coronavirus lockdown in the UK has brought the importance of managing money into sharp relief. A recent study from Money.com shows that 71% of UK households have saved cash during lockdown, and, with uncertainty about jobs and the economy looming, money management is now front of mind for many. Lanistar, a banking platform with a focus on personal finance, is one company offering tools for consumers to better manage their money. It has just raised a £15 million ($19 million) funding round from Mil...

How to send your location on Snapchat to your friends through the app's Snap Map feature

* You can send your location on Snapchat to a single friend or to several users in a group.   * To send a location on Snapchat, you'll need to visit your friendship history with a user and locate the "Send My Location" feature.  * Once you send a location on Snapchat to a friend, they can tap it and zoom in to see where you are.  * Visit Business Insider's Tech Reference library for more stories. Whether you want to share the location of your favorite restaurant or the address of your new apartment, you can easily send your location on Snapchat to your friends.  You can do this using the Snap Map and will even be prompted to select who you want to share you location with the first time you use the app feature. You can choose to share your location with your mutual friends, a list of friends with exceptions, or a small group of selected friends.  To send your location directly to a mutual Snapchat friend, you must visit your chat history through your friends li...