Ending all speculation and drama the two US astronauts entered theInternational Space Station last night smoothly.

The US astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken have floated intothe International Space Station (ISS), and were met with hugs and handshakesfrom ISS Commander and fellow Nasa astronaut Chris Cassidy and Russiancosmonauts Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner.

They spoke to mission control from the spacecraft saying they arehonoured to be a small part of the programme.

Earlier On Sunday night, two American astronauts flew to theInternational Space Station, the world's only space-based laboratory, locatedabout 400 km from the earth, in a journey that has been undertaken hundreds oftimes earlier.

The event generated tremendous excitement around the globe, notbecause of any special technological achievement but because of the agency thatfacilitated the trip. It was the first time that astronauts used a spaceshipbuilt and launched by a private company, and the event is being widely seen asthe beginning of a new era in space exploration.