Watch the highlights of SpaceX’s Crew-7 arrival at the ISS

By Trevor Mogg Published August 27, 2023

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.

Recommended Videos

Here’s a clip showing the Crew Dragon approaching the orbital outpost:

The @SpaceX Dragon Endurance spacecraft is nearing the station for a docking to the Harmony module as it soars over Ontario. Watch live… https://t.co/cBNqC5JGaz pic.twitter.com/qlmuJYku9L

— International Space Station (@Space_Station) August 27, 2023

And here’s a view of the spacecraft’s interior:

https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1695769644727210273

The next video shows the Crew Dragon docking with the space station:

The @SpaceX Dragon Endurance spacecraft docked to the station’s Harmony module at 9:16am ET today. The four #Crew7 members are now prepping for hatch opening. https://t.co/XR8weAFc9k pic.twitter.com/qh3ItKAHqc

— International Space Station (@Space_Station) August 27, 2023

This clip shows the astronauts floating aboard their new home some 250 miles above Earth and being greeted by the station’s current crew:

Welcome aboard, #Crew7!

The four @NASA @SpaceX Crew-7 members joined the seven-member Exp 69 crew aboard the space station today, expanding its population to 11. https://t.co/MFmYPgUklf pic.twitter.com/1zZ3NhWXtL

— International Space Station (@Space_Station) August 27, 2023

And below we see the new crew offering a few introductory words after being welcomed aboard the ISS:

Hear from the #Crew7 quartet as the Expedition 69 crew welcomes them aboard the orbiting laboratory. pic.twitter.com/q7aS96J955

— International Space Station (@Space_Station) August 27, 2023

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.”

Contributing Editor

Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…

Topics

Space

NASA built the Roman Space Telescope to study dark matter, but it can also help protect Earth from killer asteroids

The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope wasn't built to hunt asteroids, but it turns out to be great at it.

Nancy Grace Roman space telescope.

NASA is about to launch a telescope built to unlock some of the universe's biggest mysteries, and it turns out that same design could help protect Earth along the way.

The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is set to launch from Kennedy Space Center on August 30, 2026, with a primary mission focused on studying dark matter and dark energy - the invisible forces shaping galaxies and cosmic expansion. Researchers now say its unique design also makes it unexpectedly effective at spotting dangerous asteroids headed our way (via MIT Technology Review).

Space

Space is becoming Bezos and Musk’s next data center site, and we have every reason to worry

The AI boom is coming for the night sky

How Vast's space station will look in orbit.

AI data centers already consume vast amounts of electricity and water on Earth, so Silicon Valley has begun looking somewhere considerably more spacious... literally.

Elon Musk's SpaceX and Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin, along with several other companies, have proposed enormous constellations of satellites designed to operate as orbital data centers. However, environmental groups and former space officials are now warning that putting them into orbit at the proposed scale could have severe consequences for Earth's atmosphere and the night sky.

Space

The first possible exomoon is here, and it makes our Moon look hilariously tiny

Scientists may have found the first exomoon, except this one is the size of Jupiter

This artist’s concept depicts a potential volcanic moon between the exoplanet WASP-49 b, left, and its parent star. New evidence indicating that a massive sodium cloud observed near WASP-49 b is produced by neither the planet nor the star has prompted researchers to ask if its origin could be an exomoon.

We have already discovered more than 6,000 planets outside of our immediate neighborhood. Yet, finding a moon orbiting one of those distant worlds has proved considerably harder. Astronomers may finally have something close to the real deal, but this particular object stretches the word “moon” almost beyond recognition.

Using the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope in Chile, researchers detected strong evidence for a moon-like object in the CD-35 2722 system. Further observations are still necessary to confirm the discovery, but it could become the first confidently detected natural satellite outside our solar system. There is still one tiny complication though. This moon is apparently massive.