Newest NASA arrivals address briefing LIVE from ISS; toy dragon & Earth bauble in tow

Newly arrived NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley, joined by astronaut Chris Cassidy participated in a press conference on the International Space Station Monday. Cassidy welcomed the two astronauts and said the smell of the hatch was like a 'new car.'

"When we've got that hatch open, you could tell it was a brand new vehicle with smiley faces on the other side, smiley face on mine, just as if you had bought a new car. The same kind of reaction. Wonderful to see my friends and wonderful to see a brand-new vehicle," he said.

Hurley showed off the small U.S. flag during a news conference and again in a linkup with SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, California.

"You can bet we will take it with us when we depart back to Earth," said Hurley, floating alongside Dragon crewmate Bob Behnken.

The flag flew on the first space shuttle flight in 1981 and the final one in 2011. Hurley was on that last shuttle crew. The flag was an added incentive for Elon Musk's SpaceX company and Boeing, competing to be the first private company to launch a crew to the space station.

Saturday's liftoff of NASA astronauts was the first from the U.S. in nine years. Boeing's first astronaut flight isn't expected until next year. The crew will include Chris Ferguson, commander of the last shuttle flight who now works for Boeing.

Behnken said one of the first things he did upon reaching the orbiting lab was call his 6-year-old 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.

Image credits: AP