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NASA SpaceX Crew-5 Astronauts Dock Arrive at International Space Station

NASA astronauts Nicole Mann and Josh Cassada, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Koichi Wakata, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Anna Kikina arrived at the International Space Station on Thursday, October 6, as the SpaceX Dragon Endurance docked to the complex at 5:01 p.m. EDT while the spacecraft was flying 258 miles above the west coast of Africa. Credit: NASA TV

SpaceXCommonly known as SpaceX, Space Exploration Technologies Corp. is a private American aerospace manufacturer and space transportation services company that was founded by Elon Musk in 2002. Headquartered in Hawthorne, California, the company designs, manufactures, and launches advanced rockets and spacecraft.” data-gt-translate-attributes=”[{“attribute”:”data-cmtooltip”, “format”:”html”}]”>SpaceX Dragon Endurance docked to the International Space Station and Crew-5 members enter to join the Expedition 68 crew.

NASAEstablished in 1958, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is an independent agency of the United States Federal Government that succeeded the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA). It is responsible for the civilian space program, as well as aeronautics and aerospace research. Its vision is "To discover and expand knowledge for the benefit of humanity." Its core values are "safety, integrity, teamwork, excellence, and inclusion."” data-gt-translate-attributes=”[{“attribute”:”data-cmtooltip”, “format”:”html”}]”>NASA astronauts Nicole Mann and Josh Cassada, JAXAFormed in 2003, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) was born through the merger of three institutions, namely the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS), the National Aerospace Laboratory of Japan (NAL) and the National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA). JAXA performs various activities related to aerospace, from basic research in the aerospace field to development and utilization and is responsible for research, technology development, and launch of satellites into orbit, and is involved in advanced missions such as asteroid exploration and possible human exploration of the Moon.” data-gt-translate-attributes=”[{“attribute”:”data-cmtooltip”, “format”:”html”}]”>JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Koichi Wakata, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Anna Kikina arrived at the International Space Station (ISS) on Thursday, October 6, as the SpaceX Dragon Endurance docked to the complex at 5:01 p.m. EDT. At the time, the spacecraft were flying 258 miles above the west coast of Africa.

Following Dragon’s link up to the Harmony module, the crew aboard Dragon Endurance and the space station began conducting standard leak checks and pressurization between the spacecraft in preparation for hatch opening.

NASA Astronaut Nicole Mann Enters Space Station

NASA astronaut Nicole Mann enters the space station less than two hours after docking the Dragon Endurance crew ship to the Harmony module’s forward port. Credit: NASA TV

Following Dragon hatch opening at 6:49 p.m. EDT, Crew-5 joined the Expedition 68 crew of NASA astronauts Bob Hines, Kjell Lindgren, Frank Rubio, and Jessica Watkins, Samantha Cristoforetti of ESA (European Space Agency), and Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin.

With the addition of Crew 5, the number of crew on the space station will increase to 11 people for a short time. Soon the number will drop back down to 7 when Crew-4 astronauts Hines, Lindgren, Watkins, and Cristoforetti return to Earth.

Source: SciTechDaily