Astronauts float inside SpaceX Dragon capsule
Source: Agencies |
May 27, 2012, Sunday
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ASTRONAUTS aboard the International Space Station opened the hatch and floated inside a Space Exploration Technologies' Dragon capsule yesterday, the first privately-owned spaceship to reach the orbital outpost, NASA said.
Running ahead of schedule, station commander Oleg Kononenko and flight engineer Don Pettit opened the hatch to Dragon just before 1000 GMT, NASA mission commentator Josh Byerly reported from Mission Control in Houston, Texas, in the United States.
The bell-shaped capsule, which was making its second test flight, arrived at the space station on Friday.
The crew wore protective masks and goggles, but the interior of Dragon, which is 10 cubic meters, about the size of a large walk-in closet, proved clean.
"There was no sign of any kind of (debris) floating around," Pettit radioed to Mission Control.
"It kind of reminds me of the cargo capability that I could put in the back of my pickup truck. And the smell inside smells like a brand new car," Pettit added.
Dragon carries about 545 kilograms of food and other supplies for the station, all non-essential items because NASA and Space Exploration Technologies, or SpaceX, did not know beforehand if it would actually make it to the station.
Following last Tuesday's launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, Dragon had to demonstrate that it could be commanded and controlled by operators on the ground as well as by the orbiting space station crew.
Dragon and SpaceX mission control in Hawthorne, California, aced two days of precision flying and systems tests, clearing the way for Dragon to fly within reach of the station's 17.7-meter robot arm on Friday.
Astronauts snared the capsule at 1356 GMT on Friday as the two spacecraft zoomed around the planet at 28,164 kilometers per hour. It was anchored into a berthing port on the station's Harmony connecting node a few hours later.
SpaceX and a second company, Orbital Sciences Corp, hold NASA contracts worth a combined US$3.5 billion to fly cargo to the station.
Orbital plans to debut its Antares rocket and Cygnus capsule later this year.
NASA is reviewing proposals from at least four firms, including SpaceX, seeking funding under a related program to develop spaceships for flying astronauts as well. Awards are expected in August.
Running ahead of schedule, station commander Oleg Kononenko and flight engineer Don Pettit opened the hatch to Dragon just before 1000 GMT, NASA mission commentator Josh Byerly reported from Mission Control in Houston, Texas, in the United States.
The bell-shaped capsule, which was making its second test flight, arrived at the space station on Friday.
The crew wore protective masks and goggles, but the interior of Dragon, which is 10 cubic meters, about the size of a large walk-in closet, proved clean.
"There was no sign of any kind of (debris) floating around," Pettit radioed to Mission Control.
"It kind of reminds me of the cargo capability that I could put in the back of my pickup truck. And the smell inside smells like a brand new car," Pettit added.
Dragon carries about 545 kilograms of food and other supplies for the station, all non-essential items because NASA and Space Exploration Technologies, or SpaceX, did not know beforehand if it would actually make it to the station.
Following last Tuesday's launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, Dragon had to demonstrate that it could be commanded and controlled by operators on the ground as well as by the orbiting space station crew.
Dragon and SpaceX mission control in Hawthorne, California, aced two days of precision flying and systems tests, clearing the way for Dragon to fly within reach of the station's 17.7-meter robot arm on Friday.
Astronauts snared the capsule at 1356 GMT on Friday as the two spacecraft zoomed around the planet at 28,164 kilometers per hour. It was anchored into a berthing port on the station's Harmony connecting node a few hours later.
SpaceX and a second company, Orbital Sciences Corp, hold NASA contracts worth a combined US$3.5 billion to fly cargo to the station.
Orbital plans to debut its Antares rocket and Cygnus capsule later this year.
NASA is reviewing proposals from at least four firms, including SpaceX, seeking funding under a related program to develop spaceships for flying astronauts as well. Awards are expected in August.
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