CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — SpaceX’s newest astronaut mission for NASA has reached its vacation spot.
The Crew-5 mission launched yesterday (Oct. 5) from NASA’s Kennedy House Middle in Florida, sending a Dragon capsule aloft atop a Falcon 9 rocket. That Dragon, named Endurance, caught up with the Worldwide House Station (ISS) right now (Oct. 6), after a 29-hour orbital chase.
Endurance made contact with the ahead port of the station’s Concord module at 5:01 p.m. EDT (2101 GMT), whereas the 2 spacecraft had been flying over the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of West Africa. The docking operation was accomplished about 10 minutes later.
Picture Gallery: SpaceX’s Crew-5 astronaut launch in wonderful pictures
Extra: SpaceX’s Crew-5 astronaut mission: Stay updates
The hatches between Endurance and the ISS opened round 6:45 p.m. EDT (2245 GMT), and the Crew-5 astronauts — NASA’s Nicole Mann and Josh Cassada, Japan’s Koichi Wakata and cosmonaut Anna Kikina — floated aboard the orbiting lab about 10 minutes later. They’re going to dwell on the ISS for 5 months.
The brand new arrivals will say just a few phrases throughout a welcome ceremony, which is slated to happen at 8:05 p.m. EDT (0005 GMT on Oct. 7). You may watch it dwell right here at House.com.
Mann and Kikina have the consideration of carrying private mantles for this mission: Mann is the primary Native American girl in house, and Kikina is the primary cosmonaut to fly on a SpaceX Dragon. Each are spaceflight rookies, as is Cassada; Wakata has now been to house 5 instances.
The Dragon Endurance additionally ferried SpaceX’s Crew-3 mission to the ISS and again. SpaceX operates a fleet of 4 Crew Dragon capsules, that are refurbished and examined earlier than every reflight. Endurance flew with a mix of latest and beforehand flown elements, together with a brand new warmth defend, parachutes and nostril cone.
SpaceX can be well-known for flying used rockets, however the Crew-5 liftoff featured a Falcon 9 with a brand-new first stage. The booster, painted with NASA’s worm emblem, was shiny white, freed from the soot that is a well-recognized sight on the corporate’s reflown first levels.
“We do like getting the brand new boosters,” Steve Stich, supervisor of NASA’s industrial crew program, stated in a post-launch press convention yesterday.
“Each time SpaceX places a brand new booster within the fleet, they proceed to make … security enhancements to the boosters,” Stich defined. “We just like the reflown boosters, however … getting a brand new booster will get us some upgrades and a few security enhancements, which we recognize a large quantity.”
The Crew-5 astronauts are becoming a member of seven crewmates already aboard the ISS, 4 of whom are members of SpaceX’s Crew-4 mission. Crew-5’s arrival begins the countdown for Crew-4’s departure from the station, which can occur in a few week, stated Sarah Walker, director for Dragon mission administration at SpaceX.
The precise timing of Crew-4’s splashdown return off the coast of Florida depends on climate, Walker stated throughout yesterday’s post-launch press convention.
“So, we’ll proceed to observe the climate,” she stated. “The automobile that’s onboard supporting the Crew-4 mission is wholesome, and we’ll simply look ahead to these situations to securely carry the crew residence.”
Editor’s observe: This story was up to date at 7 p.m. EDT with information of hatch opening and the Crew-5 astronauts’ transfer from Endurance to the ISS.
Observe us on Twitter @Spacedotcom (opens in new tab) or on Fb (opens in new tab).