The Crew 10 Dragon capsule has docked with the International Space Station in a textbook manner early on Sunday morning, bringing in four new crew members and paving the way for the Starliner Astronauts to return home following nearly 300 days of space travel.
Crew Dragon, which was launched from Kennedy Space Center on Friday evening, approached from below and behind. It passed directly beneath the station at a distance of 1,300 feet before looping to a point directly in front, 720 feet away. It then glided directly into the forward port of the Harmony module at 12:04 am EDT.
The capsule is then pulled into the docking system by motorized latches, resulting in an airtight seal. The crew performed the standard leak checks, connected the umbilical cords and then opened the Dragon’s hatch forward at 1:35 am. They floated in to the station.
Anne McClain (Crew 10 Commander), an Army colonel who was a former combat helicopter pilot and former commander of the Space Station, told flight control that she and her crew had “a great trip” to the station from the launchpad. She added, “I can’t tell you how much joy we felt when we first saw the station through the window.”
She said: “It’s hard to put into words what an incredible journey that was.” “The ride on the Falcon 9 orbiting the Earth over the past couple of days has been absolutely amazing… “Thank you very much.”
“Thanks to SpaceX, for an awesome ride up there,” said Nichole Ayers. She is a major in the Air Force and f-22 Raptor co-pilot. As a space rookie, it was one of my most memorable experiences. I’m so excited to start working up here.
McClain and Ayers will replace Crew 9 Commander Nick Hague and cosmonaut Alexander Gorbunov. They will also be replacing Starliner Commander Barry “Butch” Wilmore, and Sunita Wilmore, his pilot.
Three more crew members – cosmonauts Ivan Vagner, Aleksey OVchinin and NASA astronaut Donald Pettit – were also launched into the station in September last year aboard a Russian Soyuz rocket. The crew is scheduled to return next month.
Wilmore and Williams took off on their first piloted test of Boeing’s Starliner astronaut shuttle ship last June 5. Originally, the flight was expected to last around eight days.
The Starliner had propulsion problems during the rendezvous, and NASA decided to not bring the crew on board the Boeing spacecraft.
The astronauts were instructed to stay aboard the station until the Starliner returns to Earth by itself. NASA then removed two astronauts, Wilmore and Williams, from the next flight of Station 9, Crew 9.
Wilmore and Williams were already on the station when Hague and Gorbunov arrived. They became part of Crew 9 and served a six-month normal tour.
Hague, Gorbunov Wilmore, and Williams, now that Crew 10 is here, will familiarize their replacements to the space station’s operations, before they undock and return to Earth in the Gulf of Mexico near the coasts of Florida next week.
Wilmore and Williams, at the time of landing, will have spent nearly 290 days in orbit since their launch in June last year. Although a long flight, by any measure, it is still far short of the U.S. single-flight record set by Frank Rubio (371) days in 2022/23.
Ironically, Rubio’s record is the result from another extended mission. This one was due to a coolant leak on the Russian Soyuz that he launched in. The Russians chose to launch a new spacecraft instead of bringing down their crew aboard the original Soyuz.
Rubio spent a little over a year in space. This was twice as long as his original expectations.
Williams will be ranked No. 2 on the list of most experienced U.S. astronauts, based on her two previous stays at the station. Williams is ranked No. 2 in the most experienced U.S. Astronauts list, with 570 days of space experience overall. This will vary depending on when the launch actually occurs. Peggy Whitson, a former U.S. Astronaut, has spent more time in space than any other U.S. astronaut: 675 total days across four flights.
