After successful launch, NASA's Crew Dragon passes its next test

NASA astronaut Eric Boe, assistant to the chief of the astronaut office for commercial crew, left, and Norm Knight, deputy director of flight operations at NASA&#039;s Johnson Space Center watch t

(Image credit: Joel Kowsky /NASA via Getty Images)

last updated 3 March 2019

Another day, another success for NASA.

24 hours after NASA and SpaceX successfully launched the Crew Dragon — the first American spacecraft capable of carrying humans into orbit since 2011 — the capsule passed its next major test with flying colors, docking safely with the International Space Station.

No humans were aboard the Dragon — just a mannequin — which docked autonomously without assistance from the station crew or a robotic arm. After the Dragon docked, the three astronauts on board the station entered the capsule to take air samples and atmospheric readings to ensure its safety.

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The spacecraft will now remain attached to the station until Friday evening when it will detach and return to Earth. If the trial goes well, SpaceX and NASA could send two astronauts — Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken — into orbit as early as this summer.

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Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.