SpaceX astronauts have arrived at the International Space Station (ISS)

In a used space capsule: Astronauts from SpaceX have arrived at the International Space Station (ISS)

For the first time, a team of astronauts traveled to the International Space Station (ISS) using a space capsule. The four astronauts docked on the “Crowdragon” space capsule “Endeavor” of the private space company SpaceX at the International Space Station on Saturday morning.

Two hours later, at around 1:00 PM CEST, their crewmates greeted the crew from their last SpaceX mission. For now, it’ll be tighter on the International Space Station – there are now 11 astronauts in total.

In a live broadcast from NASA, it was possible to see how the capsule docked in the International Space Station at around 11:08 a.m. Central European Time at an altitude of about 420 kilometers over the Indian Ocean. Two hours later, the astronauts took pictures with their colleagues already stationed on the International Space Station. On Friday morning, the capsule was launched into space with the help of a launcher from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The Endeavor crew includes American astronauts Shane Kimbro and Megan MacArthur as well as Japanese Akihiko Hoshid and Frenchman Thomas Pesquet. Pesquet is the first European to fly to the International Space Station with SpaceX. He is set to stay on board the International Space Station for six months, and in his final month in space, he will take command there as well – as the third European after Germany’s Alexander Gerst and Belgium’s Frank de Wien.

Festive arrival

Pisquet described the arrival to the International Space Station as majestic. It’s been 20 years since astronauts from NASA, Jaxa, the European Space Agency (ESA) and Russian astronauts were together in space. “So what is happening today is actually quite historical,” he said. “We cannot wait to start our work on the space station. We can’t wait to see what the adventure has in store for us. “

In addition to the “Crew 2” crew who just arrived, the “Crew 1” crew, who flew into space on the last SpaceX mission in November, is already on the International Space Station. It is scheduled to return “Crew 1” to Earth next Wednesday.

The Crew 2 team will stay on the International Space Station for six months. Among other things, astronauts will conduct about a hundred experiments and upgrade the solar power system on the International Space Station.

Mission from Elon Musk

It is SpaceX’s third manned mission to the International Space Station. Previously used Crew Dragon capsule was used. The company’s first assignment from high-tech pioneer Elon Musk ended last May with a nine-year phase, where he finished United States of America It relied on Russian missiles for flights to the International Space Station.

Recycling of spaceships is one of the visions of Musk founder of SpaceX. “I think we are at the beginning of a new era in space exploration,” he said in a press conference after the launch of Endeavor. Musk made no secret of his desire to bring humanity not only to the moon but also to Mars. (sda / afp)