ISS Astronaut Snaps Photos Of Crew Dragon Approaching During Historic Mission

After successfully launching from the NASA Kennedy Space Center on Saturday (May 30), the Crew Dragon docked at the International Space Station (ISS) about 19 hours after it reached the planned orbit. Images snapped by an astronaut aboard the ISS showed the spacecraft as it was approaching the orbiting laboratory.

For its June 2 "image of the day," NASA Earth Observatory shared two images snapped by an Expedition 63 crew member using a Nikon D4 digital camera, showing the Crew Dragon as it was making its approach for the historic Demo-2 mission.

In the first photo, the Crew Dragon can be seen as it was approaching the ISS. Behind it, one can see part of southwestern Turkey, including the city of Demre.

The other photo showed the spacecraft much closer to the ISS, just before docking. Compared to the first image where the Earth can still be seen in the background, only the blackness of space is visible behind the Crew Dragon.

The Demo-2 mission marked the United States's return to human spaceflight since the Space Shuttle Program ended in 2011.

While on the way to the ISS, Behnken and Hurley announced they have named the spacecraft as "Endeavor," in honor of the Space Shuttle Endeavor in which both of them flew their first flights.

Now that the spacecraft was docked to the ISS, it will remain there for about a month. At the end of the mission at the ISS, the crew will undock Endeavor, deorbit and re-enter the Earth's atmosphere. It is expected to splash down in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Cape Canaveral.

"It's difficult to put into words how proud I am of the people who got us here today," NASA's Commercial Crew Program manager, Kathy Lueders said, according to NASA Earth Observatory. "When I think about all of the challenges overcome — from design and testing, to paper reviews, to working from home during a pandemic and balancing family demands with this critical mission — I am simply amazed at what the NASA and SpaceX teams have accomplished together."

Once Hurley and Behnken are back on Earth, SpaceX and NASA teams will have time to inspect the vehicle as well as the data for Demo-2 in preparation for the Crew-1 mission, the Crew Dragon's first six-month operational mission.