A SpaceX crew successfully docked at the International Space Station (ISS) early Sunday morning, marking a significant moment for NASA. The mission aimed to relieve two astronauts who had been on the ISS for an extended nine months.
The SpaceX Crew-10 Dragon capsule arrived at the ISS just after midnight eastern time, following its launch from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Friday evening. The crew consisted of NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, Japanese astronaut Takuya Onishi, and Russian cosmonaut Kirill Peskov.
As the Dragon capsule approached the ISS, cameras captured the moment it docked, and the astronauts shared warm greetings as they entered the station. The hatch opened at 1:35 a.m. ET, and Crew-10 was welcomed by the current ISS crew, known as Expedition 72.
McClain, the commander of Crew-10, expressed her joy during a live video, saying, “Crew-10 has had a great journey up here, about 28 hours to get back up to the space station.” She described the experience of seeing the station from space as incredible.
This mission was crucial for retrieving American astronauts Butch Willmore and Sunita Williams, who had been on the ISS since June. Their original stay was expected to last only ten days, but technical issues with their Boeing Starliner spacecraft left them stranded for much longer.
Willmore shared his excitement with Mission Control, saying, “It was a wonderful day. Great to see our friends arrive.”
Crew-10 will spend several days training and adjusting to their roles on the ISS before Willmore and Williams return to Earth along with American astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov. This docking not only marks the end of a long wait for the stranded astronauts but also highlights the ongoing collaboration and progress in space exploration.