1. Watching the Launch
"So, what were the ISS astronauts doing during @SpaceX's historic #Dragon launch this week? The same thing we were!" - @NASA
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It's been two days since private spaceflight company SpaceX launched its Dragon capsule to dock with the International Space Station, and it's already captured and tweeted dramatic pictures of its flight.
SpaceX and NASA have tweeted a series of photos taken by the unmanned Dragon, which could become on Friday the first ever privately built spacecraft to dock at the habitable artificial satellite.
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The mission is part of an effort to test Dragon’s reliability to transfer supplies to the station. By 2015, SpaceX aims to have a certified commercial spacecraft to send passengers to Earth’s low orbit.
Over the past few days, the Dragon has successfully completed a series of tests to determine if it's ready to berth at the station. As of now, it's on track to attach to the facility on Friday morning -- a process that SpaceX says will take "extreme precision." SpaceX tweeted on Thursday that the most difficult part of mission is on the horizon.
#Dragon has been performing well, but the most difficult aspects of the mission are still ahead.
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) May 24, 2012
Astronauts already on board the International Space Station will activate the space station’s robotic arm that will reach out and attach the capsule. The following day, they will open Dragon’s hatch and unload the supplies that the Dragon is carrying.
Image courtesy of SpaceX
This story originally published on Mashable here.
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