SpaceX's Dragon capsule carrying four astronauts, three Americans and one Japanese, docked overnight from Monday November 16 to Tuesday November 17 at the International Space Station (ISS).
The first phase of the docking to the ISS, the "
soft capture
", ended Tuesday at 04:01 GMT, according to images broadcast live on the internet by NASA.
The second phase, or "
hard capture
", took place a few minutes later.
Read also: Microsoft on the offensive in space in partnership with SpaceX
The capsule, called "Resilience", was launched by a Falcon 9 rocket from the private firm SpaceX, NASA's new means of space transport after nine years of dependence on Russia.
"
It's a big day for the United States of America and for Japan,
" NASA chief Jim Bridenstine said at a press conference.
The Falcon rocket lifted off on time Monday night from the Kennedy Space Center with Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover, Shannon Walker and Soichi Noguchi strapped to the Dragon capsule attached to the top.
"
It was a hell of a launch,
" said Captain Michael Hopkins once in orbit.
Several upcoming missions
The astronauts, who join two Russians and an American at the station, will stay six months in the orbital laboratory, circling the Earth 400 km above the oceans.
This first “
operational
”
flight
follows the successful demonstration mission from May to August, during which two American astronauts were taken to the ISS and then brought back to Earth safely by SpaceX, the first private company to accomplish this technological feat.
In total, SpaceX is due to launch two other manned flights in 2021 for NASA, including in the spring with European Thomas Pesquet, and four cargo refueling missions in the next 15 months.
Trump and Biden congratulate NASA
“
NASA was a disaster when we took matters into our own hands.
Today it is the most popular and advanced space center in the world, by far!
President Donald Trump tweeted, appropriating the success of a program launched under his two predecessors.
Democratic President-elect Joe Biden also praised NASA and SpaceX.
“
It's proof of the power of science and of what we can accomplish by combining innovation, inventiveness and determination,
” he tweeted.
