30.09.2024

SpaceX's Dragon capsule pictured after docking at the International Space Station

A SpaceX capsule sent to bring back two astronauts stranded on the International Space Station (ISS) has docked.

The Dragon capsule, which has two empty seats for Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, docked at 17:30 eastern time (22:30 BST).

The pair arrived at the station on Boeing's new Starliner capsule for an eight-day mission in June, but were forced to remain there because of a fault discovered during the flight.

They are now expected to return to Earth in February.

The Dragon capsule lifted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida on Saturday carrying Nasa astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Gorbunov.

Hague, who has done a previous stint on the ISS, and Gorbunov will join the space station's crew before taking Wilmore and Williams back to Earth.

The launch had been scheduled for Thursday but was delayed because of Hurricane Helene, which has caused huge destruction across the south-eastern US, including Florida, in recent days.

The docking occurred as the space station flew 265 miles (426km) above Botswana in southern Africa.

Footage from inside the ISS showed Hague and Gorbunov smiling and posing for photos with the rest of the crew after their arrival.

The original Starliner flight, which launched on 5 June, was that capsule's first test flight with astronauts on board and Boeing's first attempt to take astronauts to the ISS.

During the flight it experienced a number of problems, including leaks of helium - which is used in its propulsion system - and issues with several of its thrusters.

Engineers at Boeing and Nasa spent months investigating, but in late August Nasa decided that it would not be safe to try to bring Wilmore and Williams home aboard the Starliner.

The capsule had already been delayed for several years because of setbacks during its development, as well as issues discovered during uncrewed test flights in 2019 and 2022.

Nasa retired its space shuttle fleet in 2011, leaving it reliant on Russia's Soyuz craft to get to and from the ISS.

Having two American companies to perform the missions has been a key goal of the agency's for some time, and in 2014 Boeing and SpaceX were awarded contracts worth $4.2bn (£3.2bn) and $2.6bn (£2bn) respectively.

In 2020, SpaceX - founded by billionaire Elon Musk - became the first private company to take astronauts to the ISS.

Quelle: BBC

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Expedition 72 Welcomes Crew-9 Duo Aboard Station

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 crew joins Expedition 72 aboard the International Space Station. Credit: NASA

NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov entered the International Space Station after opening the hatch between the space station and the pressurized mating adapter at 7:04 p.m. EDT before opening the hatch to Dragon.

Hague and Gorbunov were welcomed by the space station’s Expedition 72 crew, including NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt, Jeanette Epps, Don Petitt, Butch Wilmore, and Suni Williams, as well as Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexander Grebenkin, Alexey Ovchinin, and Ivan Vagner.

NASA’s live coverage continues through crew welcome remarks aboard the station on NASA+, YouTube, and the agency’s website. Learn how to stream NASA content through a variety of platforms, including social media.

NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov arrived at the International Space Station Sunday, as the SpaceX Dragon Freedom docked to the orbiting complex at 5:30 p.m. EDT while the station was 260 statute miles over Botswana.

Following Dragon’s link up to the Harmony module, the astronauts aboard the Dragon and the space station will begin conducting standard leak checks and pressurization between the spacecraft in preparation for hatch opening scheduled for approximately 7:15 p.m.

Hague and Gorbunov will join the space station’s Expedition 72 crew of NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt, Jeanette Epps, Don Petitt, Butch Wilmore, and Suni Williams, as well as Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexander Grebenkin, Alexey Ovchinin, and Ivan Vagner. For a short time, the number of crew aboard the space station will increase to 11 people until Crew-8 members Dominick, Barratt, Epps, and Grebenkin return to Earth in early October.

Quelle: NASA