Nearly 24 hours after launching from Florida, SpaceX's Crew Dragon capsule delivered NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley to the International Space Station on Sunday, marking the first U.S. space capsule to do so with a crew since 2011.
Gavino Garay has more.
NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley on Sunday climbed aboard the International Space Station after a 19-hour flight aboard the SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule -- the first time U.S. astronauts have launched from American soil since NASA's space shuttle program was terminated in 2011.
The launch from Cape Canaveral, Florida was carried out one day earlier by SpaceX, the private rocket company of billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk.
The two Americans received a warm welcome from the current crew on board the ISS, after executing an hours-long critical spacecraft docking.
NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine from mission control in Houston checked in on them after their long journey.
Bridenstine: "Did you get any sleep on the 19-hour flight?" Behken: "We managed to get 7 hours...The first night is always a little bit of a challenge, but the Dragon is a slick vehicle and we had good airflow so we had an excellent evening." The mission is part of NASA's commercial spacecraft program that allows U.S. companies to compete for NASA contracts to send U.S. astronauts to space and drive down costs The weekend SpaceX launch was attended by U.S. President Donald Trump, after being scrubbed earlier in the week due to inclement weather.
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