What does it mean to dock in space?

Docking and berthing of spacecraft is the joining of two space vehicles. This connection can be temporary, or partially permanent such as for space station modules. Docking specifically refers to joining of two separate free-flying space vehicles.

How do you dock in space?

Video quote: There 12 latches that we refer to as hard capture latches. Those are what will really create that pressure tight seal between the Dragon spacecraft and the International Space Station.

How do space docks work?

A space dock is a hypothesised type of space station that is able to repair or build spacecraft similar to maritime shipyards on Earth. They remove the need for new spacecraft to perform a space launch to reach space and existing spacecraft to make an atmospheric entry and landing for repair work.

How hard is docking in space?

Even though it’s been done many times before, the docking maneuver between two objects in space is always a delicate and potentially dangerous procedure. The speed is extremely high (about 28,000 km/h in case of the ISS), and corrections are difficult.

How do astronauts dock the ISS?

The Cygnus resupply spacecraft arriving at the ISS does not connect to a docking port, instead it is pulled into a berthing mechanism by the station’s robotic arm and the station then closes the connection.

Why is docking so important?

Therefore, docking is useful for predicting both the strength and type of signal produced. Molecular docking is one of the most frequently used methods in structure-based drug design, due to its ability to predict the binding-conformation of small molecule ligands to the appropriate target binding site.