When NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley arrived on the ISS, a new age of human spaceflight was ushered in. The flight marked the first time astronauts have launched into orbit from American soil in nearly a decade, and SpaceX is now the first company to send passengers to orbit on a privately made vehicle.
Their docking comes after the astronauts spent about 19 hours inside Crew Dragon orbiting around Earth. The Crew Dragon’s docking showcased one of the biggest features of SpaceX’s capsule: its automated docking system. The vehicle is designed to autonomously approach the ISS and latch on to a standardized docking port, without any input from its human passengers. [source]
The two astronauts are expected to spend the next 6-16 weeks on the ISS before returning home on the ‘docked’ Crew Dragon. A successful return mission could be the start of more flights to space for astronauts and the possibility of commercial flights to space for consumers.
