Mission Highlights: SpaceX's Dragon Makes History

On May 25, 2012 SpaceX made history when the Dragon spacecraft became the first privately developed vehicle in history to successfully attach to the International Space Station. Previously only four governments -- the United States, Russia, Japan and the European Space Agency -- had achieved this feat. This video features highlights from the mission, including:

May 22: Launch Day: SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket launched the Dragon spacecraft into orbit from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

May 23: Dragon orbited Earth as it traveled toward the International Space Station.

May 24: Dragon's sensors and flight systems were subjected to a series of tests to determine if the vehicle was ready to attach to the space station.

May 25: NASA gave Dragon the GO to attempt berthing with the station. Dragon approached. It was successfully captured by the station's robotic arm.

May 26: US astronaut Don Pettit opened Dragon's hatch and the astronauts entered.

May 31: After six days at the International Space Station, Dragon departed for its return to Earth, carrying a load of cargo for NASA. SpaceX completed its historic mission when Dragon splashed down safely in the Pacific.

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  Science & Technology

[JoshiA0212]

I love my species....

[dutch jamaican]

Damn...I'm in the wrong line of work.

[PotatoesRnice]

All the dumb fucks should be left on Earth. Wouldn't want to spread their shitness t the rest of the universe.

[chuck crouse]

that's cool man!

[anarkov]

thanks!



[David Sims]

Elon Musk is doing an admirable job. Not only has he been successful in building a commercial space launch system, he's an idealist and his ideals are good ones: e.g., the eventual colonization of other planets. He's what a capitalist should be, building his business and his reputation by spending his own money, instead of asking the government to cover all the risks with tax money.

[David Sims]

Probably in case there had been outgassing from volatile plastics in the Dragon. There weren't, but the ISS crew was just trying to be on the safe side.

[anarkov]

Why they use gasmasks when open SpaceX's Dragon?

Sorry for my bad english

[Minh Nguyen]

Elon Musk is the man. Another small step in this infinite marathon of humanity.

[aptom203]

SpaceX makes space travel sexy again.

[proconsulaugustus]

Made possible by the visionary genius of Elon Musk.

[Alex Moen]

Fucking amazing... this is the pinnacle of humanity. Keep pushing!