SpaceX Crew Dragon successfully docks at International Space Station

The two NASA astronauts who blasted into orbit on a SpaceX rocket successfully docked Sunday at the International Space Station — just 19 hours after taking off on the historic journey with Elon Musk’s company.

Space veterans Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken gave a thumbs up after the brand-new Dragon capsule automatically docked, with no assistance needed, at 10:16 a.m., a few minutes earlier than planned, to the station. The mission marked the first in nearly a decade that astronauts have blasted off from US soil. It was also the first time a privately built and owned spacecraft carried astronauts to the orbiting lab in its nearly 20 years. The vehicle’s hatch is expected to open around 12:45 p.m., more than two hours after docking, according to Space.com. Behnken and Hurley will then join NASA colleague Chris Cassidy and Russian cosmonauts, Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner, who have been in orbit since April, according to the report.