ISS Crew Working Ahead of Schedule, Hatches Open – Update 3
UPDATE 3: A link to the video of the press conference with the ISS crew has been added.
UPDATE 2: A link to the video of hatch opening also has been added.
UPDATE: A photo of three ISS crew members looking out from the Dragon hatch has been added. It is from the news conference earlier today.
The International Space Station (ISS) crew is working ahead of schedule today. The hatches between SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft and the ISS were opened at 5:53 am Eastern Daylight Time (EDT). Astronaut Don Pettit reported that Dragon has “the smell of a brand new car.”
A video of the hatch opening is on YouTube. A press conference with the ISS crew occurred later that day and that video also is on YouTube.
The crew needs to unload 460 kilograms (1,014 pounds) of cargo from Dragon and then reload it with up to 620 kilograms (1,367 pounds) of items for return to Earth before Dragon departs on Thursday, May 31. Unloading is expected to take 20-25 hours of work.
Dragon is the first privately owned spacecraft to visit the ISS. Its successful berthing with the ISS yesterday has won accolades from many quarters. This is a test flight, and the spacecraft must return to Earth and be recovered in the Pacific Ocean before complete success can be claimed, but so far the mission is proceeding very well.
Flight Engineers Don Pettit, Andre Kuipers and Joe Acaba discuss Dragon’s mission during a crew news conference inside the Dragon spacecraft. Photo Credit: NASA TV Caption Credit: NASA
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