The SpaceX Demo crew Dragon has docked with the ISS. This is the first flight of the capsule that SpaceX and NASA plan to use later this year (hopefully July) to send actual living human astronauts to the ISS, returning to the US the ability to launch our own people. This capability was lost for at least eight years when the Shuttle last flew in July 2011; in comparison, the loss of human launch capability that existed between Apollo (last flight: July 1975) and Shuttle (first flight; April 1981) was less than six years.
The video below shows the unmanned demo capsule approaching and docking with the ISS. It just *looks* like a spaceship. Some interesting shots of it rapidly firing it’s thrusters, showing what those plumes look like in a vacuum.
After the capsule is done at ISS (should be there for five days), it will separate and re-enter. All goes well, it will land back at the Cape using a combo of rocket thrusters and parachutes. It was originally planned for the Crew Dragon to use just the thrusters, a capability SpaceX has demonstrated with their boosters, but for safety reason chutes were added. Assuming it is successful, this very same capsule will be refurbished and, in June, used for an In Flight Abort test, which should be interesting.
The launch and successful booster landing were conducted at night, so the relevant videos are less impressive than they might otherwise have been.
Note: people get attacked for wearing “Make America Great Again” hats, and sometimes they are asked to explain just when America was great. Well, I can’t speak for anyone but myself, but America was certainly greatER when we had AN ACTUAL GOT-DAMNED MANNED SPACE PROGRAM. One that can launch and recover our own people.
