Astronauts Doug Hurley & Bob Behnken hope to 'not mess too many things up' at ISS

The two astronauts, who flew a SpaceX rocket and capsule to space for the first time, Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley are ‘hoping to not mess too many things’ at the International Space Station. After being welcomed by Astronaut Chris Cassidy on board, Doug said that he and Behnken are ‘happy’ to be a part of the team and are looking forward to assisting the ISS crew. NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine also congratulated the newest members of the ISS and informed that “whole world” saw the NASA-SpaceX Crew Dragon mission on May 30 on its second attempt.

Bridenstine, who was also the first person to have a conversation with the astronauts, thanked them for making history on May 30. The first question that Bridenstine asked Behnken and Hurley was if they got any sleep on their way to the ISS and the two credited their sound sleep of nearly seven hours to the good airflow of the Crew Dragon capsule.

“I just wanted to find out if you guys got any sleep on your way up there?” NASA chief.

Behnken said, "We did get probably a good seven hours or so up to before sleep and Doug did as well. The first night is always a little bit of a challenge but the Dragon was a slick vehicle. We had good airflow. We had an excellent, excellent evening. And just excited to be back at lower Earth orbit again."

Read - ISS Crew Welcomes Hurley And Behnken Onboard; NASA Chief Asks 'did You Get Any Sleep?'

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Successful docking

SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule had successfully docked with the International Space Station at 10:16am ET on May 31 with US Astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken. The Crew Dragon is the fifth spaceship to have been parked at the station but only the first to be manufactured by a private company. In a joint venture by NASA and SpaceX, the Crew Dragon capsule blasted off into space on SpaceX’s Falcon 9 on May 30 at 3:22pm ET and at least 19 hours later, Hurley and Behnken joined the ISS crew.

According to reports, Crew Dragon’s linkup was automatic and it has occurred at least 422kilometers above the China-Mongolia border. Since the capsule was safely hatched to the space station, congratulatory messages have been flowing in for the astronauts and the teams working behind the mission. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk congratulated both astronauts on successful docking and hatch opening.

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Image Source: @Space_Station/Twitter