At 9:56am, while arcing over Australia, SpaceX Dragon successfully grappled and docked to the International Space Station
Like I’m sure a lot of my readers were, I spent a remarkably unproductive morning staring in rapt attention at the live feed of NASA’s Mission Control and SpaceX’s Mission Control rooms as they docked the SpaceX Dragon to the ISS for the first time. This is a historic event which points the way to a rapidly-increasing presence in space for humanity, as there is now financial incentive for private companies to go out there and stake their claims. And yes, I realize that sounds very Republican. But our country’s history has always been an equal mix of public and private effort, as this event typifies.
Such a momentous occasion required at least a few screen shots, which I decided to lay out for you here:
SpaceX Dragon, about an hour away from docking with the ISS
By this point, the control room’s getting a bit restless, as the ISS is approaching the night side of the Earth, where docking could prove difficult.
The ISS and SpaceX Dragon are passing over the horizon and into night.
The grappling arm is moving and docking has begun.
This is a view from the grapple-mounted camera used to steer the grapple onto Dragon
The grapple arm begins to move into position
Another view of the docking procedure, this time with the info Mission Control is looking at
Just a meter and a half or so to go before making connection
The arm is practically on the docking port
At 9:56am, while arcing over Australia, SpaceX Dragon successfully grappled and docked to the International Space Station
