SpaceX Dragon beats shuttle, Soyuz for launch

The most experienced astronaut on SpaceX’s newly launched crew said on Thursday that driving a dragon capsule into orbit is like being inside the real mythical beast, and far more fun than NASA shuttles or Russian flights.

As for the space crew rookie, he pulled more G, or gravity, fighter jets flying into the Navy, but they didn’t last as long as during his “awesome” first rocket launch, he said.

SpaceX delivered its second crew of astronauts to the International Space Station late Monday evening, just 27 hours after their launch from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.

In their first press conference from orbit, the four astronauts described Sunday night’s launch and their first impressions of the space station, their new home until spring.

Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi, who became only the third person to board three types of spacecraft, said “the dragon is the best, short answer.” He said the dragon “really wanted to go into space,” something he could hear as the Falcon 9 rocket was refueled minutes before takeoff and later during launch as the thrusters fired right out of its window seat.

“It feels like you’re really inside a dragon that takes us into space, so that was a great feeling,” he told reporters.

First space pilot Victor Glover, the crew pilot, said the G forces gradually built up after the rocket’s second stage began.

“In a fighter, you can’t hold 4G for several minutes, not in most planes,” Glover noted. “I was able to feel it for a few seconds. But having it for an extended period was really great.”

Once it reaches orbit, “it’s surreal,” he added. “I’ve seen tons of images. But when I first looked at the Earth out of the window, it’s hard to describe. There are no words … It was an incredible, once-in-a-lifetime feeling.”

The astronauts named their Resilience capsule to provide hope not only amid the pandemic but also the civil and political unrest of the year.

“I hope this inspires people to look up literally and figuratively,” said Glover, a Navy commander who became the first African-American to move to the space station full-time.

The astronauts chose a small and plush Baby Yoda as a zero-gravity indicator for the same reason: “When you see it, it’s hard not to smile,” said Commander Mike Hopkins. The crew had started watching the Disney and “Star Wars” TV series, “The Mandalorian”, with Baby Yoda.

“Space travel was probably a little bit more difficult than Baby Yoda was used to,” Hopkins said.

The SpaceX crew, which also includes Shannon Walker, joined another American and two Russians at the orbiting outpost. It is the first time that the space station has seven long-term crew members at the same time, which should increase scientific output.

A reporter asked: Does it seem crowded?

“This is engaged in a great way. There is energy up here,” said NASA astronaut Kate Rubins, who arrived in a Russian Soyuz capsule a month ago.

NASA turned to SpaceX and Boeing to transport astronauts to the space station from the United States following the withdrawal of the shuttle fleet in 2011, reducing America’s costly dependence on Russian rockets. Boeing still has months to launch a crew.

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