Expedition 31 Flight Engineer Joe Acaba writes about the arrival of the SpaceX Dragon vehicle in his latest blog entry. http://go.usa.gov/pSK
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Dragon Arrives
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So I have been on the ISS now for almost 2 weeks. �While the time has flown by, it also feels like our launch was so long ago. �I think we have all experienced these types of time warps. �It has been everything I expected and more. �It is funny that we train for over 2 years for a flight and I feel very comfortable with any technical tasks that I may have to do �and it was the daily routine/personal items that has been the most overwhelming. �It was the simple things: �where do I find clothes, what is the best technique for using the bathroom, how do I set up my personal sleep station, etc that really worked my brain. �The only way to learn all of that is by being here and relying on the patience and experience of the your fellow crew mates. �Don and Andre have been great. �I will always be grateful for their assistance. �Now that I am settled in and comfortable, I can now focus on the science and maintenance that we do during our work days.
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Of course the big story so far of my short time period onboard, has been the arrival of Dragon. �I congratulate the SpaceX team for their monumental accomplishment. �Since my original launch date was delayed by 6 weeks and Dragon was scheduled to arrive before me, Don and Andre had trained onboard as a 2 person team. �They had a great game plan. �With very consistent training in Houston, I was able to assist and fill holes as needed. �It was too cool the first time we caught sight of Dragon. �As it got closer and closer, it just became more and more amazing. �The grapple and berthing went without a hitch. �Even though we are very well trained, there was quite a bit of relief onboard after our tasks were complete. �We gathered as a crew that night for a group dinner to celebrate.
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Things that are memorable up here: �floating (you never get tired of that, it is like a dream), group dinners and stories around the table, working on science experiments that can only be done in a micro-gravity environment, reading a book while positioned in the Cupola with the Earth as a backdrop, working out and while doing bench press staring at Earth (I think if more people had that view while working out, we would make it a higher priority), sleeping in the vertical�.. �The list will grow with every passing day. �I am grateful every day for this opportunity.