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 International Space Station (ISS) immediately (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 have been flying over the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of West Africa. The docking operation was accomplished about 10 minutes later.
Photograph Gallery: SpaceX’s Crew-5 astronaut launch in amazing images
Extra: SpaceX’s Crew-5 astronaut mission: Live updates
The hatches between Endurance and the ISS are scheduled to open at 6:42 p.m. EDT (2242 GMT), after which the Crew-5 astronauts — NASA’s Nicole Mann and Josh Cassada, Japan’s Koichi Wakata and cosmonaut Anna Kikina — will transfer into the ISS for a five-month keep.
You’ll be able to watch the hatch opening right here at House.com, courtesy of NASA TV, in addition to an ISS welcome ceremony, which is slated to comply with at 8:05 p.m. EDT (0005 GMT on Oct. 7).
Mann and Kikina have the honour of carrying private mantles for this mission: Mann is the primary Native American lady in space, and Kikina is the primary cosmonaut to fly on a SpaceX Dragon. Each are spaceflight rookies, as is Cassada; Wakata has now been to space 5 occasions.
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 mixture of latest and beforehand flown elements, together with a brand new warmth protect, 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 vivid white, freed from the soot that is a well-recognized sight on the corporate’s reflown first phases.
“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 admire an enormous 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 couple of 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 relies 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 soundly convey the crew dwelling.”
Comply with us on Twitter @Spacedotcom (opens in new tab) or on Facebook (opens in new tab).
