SpaceX's manned spacecraft arrives at the International Space Station
The ship Endurance of Spacex this Thursday arrived safely at the International Space Station (ISS) with three astronauts from the US space agency (POT) and one from the European (ESA) on board, for a six-month scientific mission.
The spacecraft docked and was docked to the ISS at 6:43 p.m. (11:43 p.m. GMT), about 21 1/2 hours after taking off attached to a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral (Florida).
On board the ship they travel a woman, Kayla Barron, from NASA, and three men, Raja Chari and Tom Marshburn, from the US agency, and the German Matthias Maurer, from ESA.
The live broadcast Upon arrival at the ISS, it was possible to see the occupants of the Dragon capsule named Endurance celebrating the success of the trip and the docking and anchoring maneuver before leaving the ship and being officially received at the orbital station.
The Crew-3 mission is, as its name suggests, the third manned to arrive at ISS with astronauts from NASA and other space agencies on SpaceX ships and from US territory.
Before, there was a test mission, also manned, in 2020.
The four astronauts of the Crew-3 mission will occupy the positions left by the four Crew-2 crew members on the ISS, who last Monday night they returned to earth after six months.
Raja Chari is the commander of the new mission, Tom Marshburn, the pilot, and Kayla Barron and Matthias Maurer, the specialists. Of the four only Marshburn had traveled to space before.
The German Maurier is the 600th person to have traveled to space so far, according to NASA.
During the trip NASA and the SpaceX Crew-3 mission astronauts shared a moment of silence for Veterans Day, which commemorates the anniversary of the armistice, an agreement signed by the Allies and Germany that ended World War I in 1918, and honors the combatants and victims of the wars.
"Thank you on behalf of Endurance and SpaceX and NASA, and truly the world, to all the veterans who give us the ability to do this on a daily basis," said SpaceX Crew-3 mission commander and NASA astronaut Raja. Char in a communication from the Endurance ship.
Chari, Marshburn and Maurer were assigned to the Crew-3 mission in December 2020 and they began work and training on SpaceX's next-generation human spacecraft and for their long-term stay aboard the space station.
Barron was added as the fourth member of the crew in May 2021.
