As you’ve (hopefully) seen, on April 30th, SpaceX successfully launched its first crewed ship, which delivered the two astronauts safely to the international space station. It was the first piloted space flight from US soil in nearly nine years and the first new spacecraft in nearly 40 years.
Douglas Hurley and Robert Behnken said the ride was a bit rougher than they’d anticipated, but that they had no real problems and the docking with the space station was “smooth as silk.” Both astronauts are space-shuttle veterans, so they’re familiar with the rough launch as the solid propellant booster rockets fire. However, they said the Merlin vacuum engine on the Falcon 9 launch was rougher than the same stage for the shuttle.
The ship, Crew Dragon, is designed to autonomously rendezvous and dock with the space station. However, Hurley did take control twice to ensure that astronauts can fly the ship manually if needed. Hurley and Behnken both said the docking maneuver couldn’t even be felt, “it was just so smooth.”
And yes, the crew of the space station said, Crew Dragon has that “new car smell.”
