--- title: "Watch SpaceX’s Crew Dragon Dock Autonomously With the ISS" description: "SpaceX's next-generation passenger spacecraft Crew Dragon has docked itself to a free dock on the International Space Station at 5:51 am EST this morning." date: "2019-03-03" modified: "2019-03-03" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/spacex-crew-dragon-dock-iss" categories: - "Crew Dragon" - "Space" - "SpaceX" tags: - "crew dragon" - "elon musk" - "iss" - "NASA" - "SpaceX" --- # Watch SpaceX’s Crew Dragon Dock Autonomously With the ISS ![SpaceX's next-generation passenger spacecraft Crew Dragon has docked itself to a free dock on the International Space Station at 5:51 am EST this morning.]() *\Image: NASA\* ## Autonomous Parking After [successfully launching]() early on Saturday morning from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, SpaceX's next-generation passenger spacecraft Crew Dragon has docked itself to a free dock on the International Space Station at 5:51 am EST this morning. https://twitter.com/Space_Station/status/1102162692033306624 The footage, courtesy of the official International Space Station Twitter account, shows Crew Dragon slowly lining up its port with the ISS and approaching slowly. Crew Dragon docked after visiting a number of other locations outside of the space station, using its thrusters, earlier this morning to test its docking system. The hatch opened at 8:10 am EST. https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1102194489500753921 Anne McClain and David Saint-Jacques, two astronauts currently on board the ISS, started preparing to open the hatch that leads to the Crew Dragon from inside the station when it docked. Once they got inside, they were greeted by [SpaceX's dummy "Ripley."]() https://twitter.com/Commercial_Crew/status/1102197822915526657 ## Active Docking It's yet another historic moment for the Crew Dragon mission as the docking procedure is quite different this time when compared to previous Dragon missions: “Dragon was basically hovering under the ISS,” said Hans Koenigsmann, vice president of mission assurance at SpaceX during a pre-launch briefing on Thursday. "You can see how it moves back and forth and then the \[Canadarm\] takes it to a berthing bay." In contrast, the Crew Dragon’s docking system is active, he said: "it will plant itself in front of the station and use a docking port on its own, no docking arm required." ## A New Visitor Five days from now, Crew Dragon will undock and makes its long way back to Earth. This time around, it will splash down in the Atlantic Ocean — previous (cargo) Dragon missions have touched down in the Pacific. **READ MORE:** [SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule successfully docks to the ISS for the first time]() \[*The Verge*\] **More on Crew Dragon:** *[SpaceX Launches First U.S. Private Passenger Spacecraft to ISS]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()