Netease science and technology news on June 1, according to foreign media reports, on the morning of Sunday Eastern time, the manned dragon spacecraft of NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken successfully docked with the international space station, and then the two successfully boarded the station.

It is reported that the SpaceX manned dragon flying ship carrying two NASA astronauts was launched from the Kennedy Space Center on Saturday afternoon Eastern time, and then flew around the earth at a speed of 7.8 km / s. On Sunday morning, the spacecraft successfully docked with the international space station, completing the first part of its historic journey.

This is the first time that NASA astronauts have traveled to earth orbit from the United States since the retirement of the space shuttle in 2011, marking the first time that private companies have put astronauts into orbit.

This is also a test flight to verify the performance of a spaceship that has never carried a human before. So far, so good, but astronauts still need to return safely to earth at some point in the next few months after their space trip.

NASA astronauts bainken and Hurley were chosen for the mission because of their test flight experience and expertise. They reported that the spacecraft was operating well.

"A manned dragon ship is a device that operates smoothly," bainken said.

"We can't be more satisfied with the performance," said Hurley.

For NASA, the test was the result of years of effort. At the end of the shuttle program, NASA could no longer send astronauts into space from the United States. Over the next nine years, NASA paid Russia up to $90 million for its own astronauts to travel to the international space station in Russian spacecraft.

Finally, Nasa decided to outsource the work of manned space flight to the private sector, and awarded SpaceX and Boeing a total contract worth 6.8 billion dollars in 2014. As the industry backbone of NASA's partners, Boeing was initially the most favored company. But the company's Starline spacecraft encountered serious problems in last year's unmanned test, and had to shorten the test flight time.

This makes SpaceX the first private company to launch astronauts. Although it also encountered problems in the process of developing spacecraft, the good thing is that the final result is good.

From 3:22 p.m. ET on Saturday to 10:16 a.m. ET on Sunday, SpaceX's first manned space mission seems to be in perfect condition. Astronauts entered the space station at 1:22 p.m. on Sunday, 22 hours after they left the launch site in Florida.

The wives of Hurley and bainken are also astronauts. They looked relaxed during their space travel and showed their family and children the little dinosaur toys they had with them.

When they woke up, the spaceship was approaching the space station. The thruster of the spaceship carried out a series of "ignitions", which made the orbit of the spaceship keep rising, so that it was closer to the international space station. The manned dragon spacecraft can fly automatically, but the astronauts can take over the control system at any time. They did this twice to check the operation of the system. Hurley said they were the first astronauts to use touch screens to control the spacecraft.

"So it's also a potential challenge for us," he said

Compared with launching, docking between the spaceship and the international space station is a well-designed dance, which requires more patience and skills. At NASA's mission control center in Houston and SpaceX headquarters outside Los Angeles, controllers conducted a series of exercises that went smoothly at every step.

Then at 10:16 a.m. on Sunday. Endeavour glided slowly and steadily toward the space station, docking as the International Space Station flew over China and Mongolia.

"We're connected," NASA's Dan hoot said on the show.

It took astronauts several hours to ensure the pressure balance between the international space station and endeavour. Then the hatch opened and a few minutes later the two floated into the station. Bainken appears in the arms of NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy with a smile as superman returns.

Hurley then came in. Three NASA astronauts and two Russian cosmonauts Anatoly ivanishin and Ivan Wagner met successfully.

"It's great to get the U.S. back into manned space," Hurley said at the welcoming ceremony on the international space station. "We're really happy to get on this magnificent ship."

NASA director Jim bridenstine praised the two astronauts, saying that NASA "is proud of what you have done for our country, and in fact you have inspired the world."

Bridenstein said the mission heralded a dramatic change in the way NASA operates in space. The future of NASA will depend on working with the growing commercial space sector, as it does with SpaceX, instead of owning and operating spacecraft on its own, bridenstein said.

"It's a great moment," he said. "This represents a change in the way the United States flies in space."

The launch was scheduled for Wednesday, but was cancelled due to weather. Cassidy joked that the delay meant that Hurley and bainken missed the station's "Saturday cleanup day.".

But he said, don't worry, and make sure that new colleagues will have work: "there will be work next weekend." (Chenchen)

Source: Netease Technology Report