With respect to our current social climate there was at least one bright spot to an otherwise somber weekend. US Astronauts arrived at the International Space Station. It launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida on Saturday afternoon, two days after it got delayed by weather. It's the first time astronauts have launched from U.S. soil since 2011. And it's the first time a private company has put someone into orbit. SpaceX founder Elon Musk called it the, quote, "first step on a journey toward a civilization on Mars." WHOA! One of the coolest parts of the SpaceX rocket is that it's reusable. Less than ten minutes after liftoff, the rocket booster landed on a platform in the middle of the ocean. Roughly five minutes after that, the astronauts hit orbit. It took another 19 hours to reach the Space Station. So they burned ten minutes live streaming themselves showing off the inside of the capsule (video below.) They docked at the Space Station yesterday at 10:16am. NASA posted footage of them entering through an airlock and hugging the other astronauts on board. They'll be there at least five weeks.
On a side note - It just goes to show you that you can do ANYTHING. Work hard, dedicate yourself and you can even be an astronaut! Just ask @AstroBehnken and Astrosurfers !
FF to 3:33:00 in to this video to see them boarding the space station. Pretty cool stuff.