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SpaceX's Crew Dragon is shown here minutes before docking with the International Space Station.

NASA; Screenshot by Stephen Shankland/CNET

SpaceX's Crew Dragon successfully reached the International Space Station at 7:16 a.m. PT Sunday, delivering NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley on the first US spaceflight to make the journey in nine years. They boarded the ISS at 10:22 a.m. PT.

The historic event was put on hold last week when weather scrubbed NASA and tử cấm thành SpaceX's first attempt to launch astronauts to the ISS. The second attempt on Saturday got off the ground in spectacular, fiery fashion, propelling the astronauts into low Earth orbit. A series of rocket burns over the next 19 hours lifted Crew Dragon to the space station, and it docked 10 minutes ahead of schedule.

The Crew Dragon approached the ISS slowly at less than a meter per second under automatic guidance, releasing puffs of gas to control its orientation and movement before docking and connecting power. You can see the event unfold on NASA's live video stream. After connecting communications, performing tests and pressurizing the vestibule area on the ISS where the Crew Dragon connected, the astronauts climbed out of the SpaceX craft and onto the space station for a welcome ceremony.





The mission, called Demo-2, has had to overcome its fair share of setbacks. Not only that, but in the midst of a global pandemic, it somehow kept to its launch schedule. Rocket launches and space missions often elicit a whole range of emotions, but this one feels extra special -- and the anticipation for SpaceX's maiden crewed voyage was at an all-time high. 

We've rounded up everything you need to know about Demo-2, including how to watch the Crew Dragon docking and astronaut arrival at the ISS, what the mission is all about and the various livestreams you can tune in to if you want to follow along. 


What is Demo-2? 
Demo-2 is part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program, which involves two commercial spaceflight companies, SpaceX and Boeing, building and launching crew capsules designed to ferry astronauts to and from the ISS. 

SpaceX has a history of cargo and payload launches, but this was the company's first time sending humans off this rock. 








Now playing: Watch this: SpaceX set to to take its first astronauts into space

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When: SpaceX's Crew Dragon successfully launched on Saturday, May 30 at 12:22 p.m. PT. The ISS docking procedure began at 7:16 a.m. PT on Sunday as the capsule and space station orbited above Mongolia and China. At 10:22 a.m. PT, Behnken and Hurley boarded the ISS.

Where: The Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon capsule blasted off from Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The historic launch pad has previously hosted Apollo and space shuttle missions. The capsule is currently in orbit during a 19-hour flight to meet up with the ISS.

Why: NASA's Commercial Crew Program is aimed at ending the US reliance on Russian spacecraft for ferrying astronauts to the ISS. NASA has been buying seats on Soyuz capsules since the end of the shuttle program.