SpaceX Crew Dragon Docks at ISS to Receive Stranded Astronauts

The SpaceX Crew Dragon space Capsule, which was intended to bring stuck astronauts, Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore next year, has reached the International Space Station (ISS) on Sunday, NASA and SpaceX reported.

SpaceX Crew was launched in a mission on Saturday, September 28, 2024, to carry the astronauts, leaving two seats empty for them. It successfully docked at ISS after passing 256 miles (426 kilometers) above Botswana. It docked at 17:30 Eastern time (22:30 BST).

SpaceX Launch Delays Amid Hurricane Helene

This launch was earlier scheduled to take place on Thursday. But was delayed due to Hurricane Helene, which resulted in huge destruction across the southeastern US, including in Florida in recent days.

Contact confirmed at 5:30pm ET (2130 UTC). Next, the Dragon spacecraft will complete the docking sequence, and undergo a series of checks before crews can open the hatch and welcome #Crew9 to the @Space_Station. pic.twitter.com/y3ve8FLBqs
— NASA (@NASA) September 29, 2024

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NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos Cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov boarded the ISS shortly after the SpaceX Dragon Capsule arrived at the Station T 2130 GMT, NASA said in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

The ISS also showed some footage from inside of Hague and Gorbunov smiling and posing for pictures with the rest of the crew after their arrival.

SpaceX Encountered Minor Issues

While the launch on Sunday went smoothly, SpaceX faced minor issues. The rocket’s upper stage missed its target impact zone in the Pacific due to engine problems. As a result, SpaceX has paused further Falcon launches until the cause is identified.

Why did NASA choose SpaceX?

Notably, the change in transport came after NASA decided not to bring astronauts, Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore from their original flight called, Boeing’s Starline due to safety concerns. The Boeing Starliner faced significant technical issues during its development and testing phases. These include Thruster malfunctions, Helium leaks, Software issues, etc.

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Williams and Wilmore to Return until February 2025?

The astronauts, Williams and Wilmore, who were supposed to last a week, will now spend over eight months in space. Their new return, Dragon Capsule, will stay at ISS until February 2025 to ensure the astronauts’ safe and reliable return.

Four Astronauts Onboard ISS?

Following the arrival of two new astronauts Nick Hague and Aleksandr Gorburav on Sunday, there are currently four astronauts onboard. Their departure was delayed from one week to months due to complications with Boeing’s Starliner.

NASA hasn’t dismissed Starliner?

Despite the setbacks caused by the Boeing Starliner, NASA hasn’t turned off the spacecraft entirely. As per Jim Free, NASA’s associate administrator, “We’re a long way from saying, ‘Hey we’re writing off Boeing”. Inspections of the Starliner are still under process with post-flight data reviews already underway.

Additionally, Engineers at Boeing and NASA spent months investigating the technical issues in the Starliner. In August 2024, NASA decided that carrying astronauts via this spacecraft wouldn’t be a safe option.

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

In 2014, NASA awarded contracts to Boeing and SpaceX, valued at $4.2 billion and $2.6 billion respectively. In 2020, SpaceX founded by Billionaire Elon Musk, made history as the first private company to transport astronauts to the ISS.