The capsule has been opened at the ISS and the word is - "There was no sign of any kind of (debris) floating around," Pettit radioed to Mission Control, adding that Dragon "smells like a brand new car."
I wonder if it will smell that way when it returns to Earth and is retrieved and opened?
LRK
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UPDATE 1-Astronauts float inside SpaceX Dragon capsule
Sat May 26, 2012 12:22pm EDT
* Capsule to return to Earth Thursday
* SpaceX to deliver station cargo for NASA
* 2nd freighter to debut this year
By Irene Klotz
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. May 26 (Reuters) - Astronauts aboard the International Space Station opened the hatch and floated inside a Space Exploration Technologies' Dragon capsule on Saturday, the first privately owned spaceship to reach the orbital outpost, NASA said.
Running ahead of schedule, station commander Oleg Kononenko and flight engineer Don Pettit opened the hatch to Dragon just before 6 a.m. EDT (1000 GMT), NASA mission commentator Josh Byerly reported from Mission Control in Houston.
The bell-shaped capsule, which was making its second test flight, arrived at the space station on Friday.
The crew wore protective masks and goggles, but the interior of Dragon, which is 350 cubic feet (10 cubic metres), about the size of a large walk-in closet, proved clean.
"There was no sign of any kind of (debris) floating around," Pettit radioed to Mission Control, adding that Dragon "smells like a brand new car."
"It looks like it carries about as much cargo as I could put in my pickup truck," Pettit later told reporters during an in-flight press conference.
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Dragon (spacecraft)
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The Dragon is a reusable spacecraft developed by SpaceX, a private space transportation company based in Hawthorne, California. During itsuncrewed maiden flight in December 2010, Dragon became the first commercially-built and operated spacecraft to be recovered successfully from orbit.[6] On 25 May 2012, an uncrewed variant of Dragon became the first commercial spacecraft to successfully rendezvous with theInternational Space Station (ISS).[7][8][9]
Dragon is contracted to deliver cargo to the ISS under NASA's Commercial Resupply Services program, and is scheduled to begin regular cargo flights in August 2012.[10] Additionally, NASA awarded SpaceX a Commercial Crew Development (CCDev) contract in April 2011. The Dragon is planned to carry up to seven astronauts, or a mixture of personnel and cargo, to and from low Earth orbit. The Dragon's heat shield is furthermore designed to withstand Earth re-entry velocities from potential Lunar and Martian spaceflights.[11]
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Continue to follow updates at SpaceX.
LRK
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Dragon Becomes First Commercial Spacecraft to Attach to the Space Station
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Thanks for looking up with me.
- LRK -
Web Site: http://lkellogg.vttoth.
BlogSpot: http://
WordPress: http://lrkellogg.
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http://www.cnn.com/2012/05/26/
- LRK -
Web Site: http://lkellogg.vttoth.
BlogSpot: http://
WordPress: http://lrkellogg.
RSS link: http://
Newsletter: https://mailman1.
==============================
http://www.cnn.com/2012/05/26/
'New car smell' as space station crew enters Dragon capsule
By Melissa Gray, CNN
updated 3:05 PM EDT, Sat May 26, 2012(CNN) -- "Like the smell of a brand-new car" were the words of International Space Station astronaut Don Pettit on Saturday after he carefully opened the hatch and entered the Dragon capsule for his first glimpse inside.
Dragon connected with the station Friday, making history as the first private capsule to reach the orbiting spacecraft.
Pettit opened the hatch at 5:53 a.m. ET with Russian cosmonaut and station commander Oleg Kononenko by his side. The two men, wearing T-shirts, khaki shorts, goggles and masks gave the thumbs up to the camera after they floated inside.
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http://news.discovery.com/
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http://news.discovery.com/
SPACEX CAPSULE HAS 'NEW CAR' SMELL
After the hatches between the space station and the Dragon spacecraft were opened, astronauts ventured in for the first time
Sat May 26, 2012 05:07 PM ET
Content provided by Kerry Sheridan, AFP
Content provided by Kerry Sheridan, AFP
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Space Exploration Technologies Corporation, or SpaceX, is a space transport company headquartered in Hawthorne, California. It was founded in 2002 by former PayPal entrepreneur Elo
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WHAT THE MIND CAN CONCEIVE, AND BELIEVE, IT WILL ACHIEVE - LRK -
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WHAT THE MIND CAN CONCEIVE, AND BELIEVE, IT WILL ACHIEVE - LRK -
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