Following a perfect launch from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida early on Saturday, SpaceX’s four Crew-7 astronauts arrived safely at the International Space Station (ISS) the following day.
NASA live-streamed the Crew Dragon spacecraft approaching the ISS before docking, and also shared footage of the crew’s arrival aboard the station. The spacecraft’s hatch was opened at 10:58 a.m. ET (7:58 a.m. PT) on Sunday, shortly after the ISS crew opened the hatch between the space station and the pressurized mating adapter, NASA reported.
Here’s a clip showing the Crew Dragon approaching the orbital outpost:
And here’s a view of the spacecraft’s interior:
The next video shows the Crew Dragon docking with the space station:
This clip shows the astronauts floating aboard their new home some 250 miles above Earth and being greeted by the station’s current crew:
And below we see the new crew offering a few introductory words after being welcomed aboard the ISS:
Crew-7 comprises NASA’s Jasmin Moghbeli, the European Space Agency’s Andreas Mogensen, Satoshi Furukawa of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, and Konstantin Borisov of Russia’s Roscosmos space agency. Moghbeli and Borisov are both on their first spaceflight, while Mogensen and Furukawa are on their second.
With the ISS crew count now at 11, the station will feel a little more crowded than usual for the next few days as the four Crew-6 astronauts make final preparations for their journey back to Earth following six months in orbit.
Commenting on the latest crewed launch to the ISS from U.S. soil using SpaceX transportation technology, NASA chief Bill Nelson said: “Crew-7 is a shining example of the power of both American ingenuity and what we can accomplish when we work together.”
Nelson added that while staying aboard the orbital facility, the crew will work on more than 200 science experiments and technology demonstrations “to prepare for missions to the moon, Mars, and beyond, all while benefitting humanity on Earth.”
He said that the international collaboration seen on the space station enables NASA to engage “the best scientific minds to enable our bold missions, and it’s clear that we can do more — and we can learn more — when we work together.”
