Manila, Philippines – US astronaut Doug Hurley appeared to bang his head as he entered the International Space Station just moments after docking Sunday.
SpaceX Crew Dragon safely carried Hurley and Bob Behnken to the International Space Station on Sunday morning, following up a historic launch with a smooth docking and another milestone for Elon Musk’s company SpaceX.
‘Congratulations on a remarkable achievement and welcome to the International Space Station,’ SpaceX Mission Control radioed from Hawthorne, California.
The video shows Hurley hit his head coming out the hatch to greet fellow astronauts. He was later seen wiping his forehead with a tissue during the press event. The ISS current crew greeted Behnken and Hurley at an on-schedule hatch opening at 1:02 pm Eastern Time or 1:02 am time in the Philippines..
It was the first time a privately built spacecraft delivered safely the astronauts to the lower orbit and to the International Space Station in its nearly 20 years. The docking occurred a little early, barely 19 hours after a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted off on Saturday afternoon from Kennedy Space Center, the nation’s first astronaut launch to orbit from home soil in 9 years.
Hurley and Behnken maneuvered the SpaceX Dragon Capsule manually before it docked automatically at the International Space Station autonomously or with no assistance.
A successful mission when the spacecraft makes a smooth dock and starts latching with the target vehicle, occurred at 10.16am Eastern Time or 10:16pm time in the Philippines. It was followed a few minutes later by ‘hard capture’ when an airtight seal was completed.
‘It’s been a real honor to be just a small part of this nine-year endeavor since the last time a United States spaceship has docked with the International Space Station,’ Hurley said.
