The two NASA astronauts aboard the SpaceX Crew Dragon have docked at the International Space Station following the first crewed launch from American soil in nearly a decade.
Robert L. Behnken and Douglas G. Hurley were launched into orbit on Saturday atop of a SpaceX rocket, marking the first time the private company founded by Elon Musk sent humans into space. The pair took a 19-hour trip around the Earth as their spacecraft caught up with the orbital outpost before their capsule successfully docked at the International Space Station Sunday morning.
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Behnken and Hurley will now wait for a few hours while tests are completed to make sure the seals between the spacecraft and the space station are airtight. They are expected to remain at the space station for at least one month but could stay for up to four months to help other astronauts complete work and spacewalks there.
Saturday’s launch was the fruition of a partnership between SpaceX and NASA. The last time NASA astronauts departed American soil for the International Space Station was in 2011 before the agency’s space shuttles were retired.
