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push to orbit, on the second stage, was full of

vibrations and felt like “driving fast, very fast on

a gravel road,” he said. The astronauts instantly

went from pulling more than three G’s — more

than three times the force of Earth’s gravity — to

zero gravity as soon as they reached orbit.

“Sounds like the ultimate ride in a Batmobile

with the jet engine turned on,” Reed said.

Behnken said one of the first things he did upon

reaching the orbiting lab was call his 6-year-old

From Space to Earth: NASA and SpaceX flag capture son, Theo, to hear what is was like to watch his

father blast into space “and share that a little bit

with him while it was still fresh in his mind.”

Hurley and Behnken spent Monday making

sure their docked Dragon is ready to make an

emergency getaway, if necessary. The capsule

will serve as their lifeboat during their space

station visit. They joined three station residents

— an American and two Russians.

NASA will decide in the coming weeks how

long to keep them there. Their mission could

last anywhere from one to four months. The

timing will depend on Dragon checkouts

in orbit and launch preparations for the

company’s next astronaut flight, currently

targeted for the end of August.

With so much uncertainty and so many

variables, Behnken said it was a little hard

explaining to his son when he’d back.

“From his perspective, he’s just excited that we’re

going to get a dog when I get home,” Behnken

said with a smile.

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