The SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule with a multinational crew of astronauts connected with the International Space Station on Thursday, October 6, after a 29-hour flight. The mission, called Crew-5, is a joint operation between NASA, SpaceX and partners from around the world, including – for the first time – Russia, despite rising international tensions over its military invasion in Ukraine.
The mission launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 06:00 p.m. GMT+3 on Wednesday, October 5. Then the Crew Dragon capsule spent more than a day on a slow and methodical ascent to the ISS. As the capsule approached the ISS, the fully autonomous spacecraft used its small onboard thrusters for orientation and smooth docking.
Crew members of Crew-5 are: astronauts Nicole Mann and Josh Cassada from NASA, astronaut Koichi Wakata from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and cosmonaut Anna Kikina from the Russian space agency Roscosmos. The spaceflight marks a historic moment, as Mann became the first woman from India to travel in space for the first time. She is also the mission commander, making her the first woman to take on such a role in a SpaceX mission.
5-month mission to the ISS
Kikina’s participation in this flight is part of the flight sharing agreement signed by NASA and Roscosmos in July. Despite the fact that geopolitical tensions between the United States and Russia have reached a climax due to the escalation of the war in Ukraine, NASA has repeatedly stated that its partnership with Roscosmos on the ISS is vital for the continuation of the International Space Station and valuable scientific research on board.
Meet Crew-5 pic.twitter.com/k4nwgMAIuK
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) October 5, 2022
Crew-5 astronauts will spend about five months in space. It is expected that during their stay they will go into outer space for repair work, as well as conduct more than 200 scientific experiments. These experiments will include research on the printing of human organs in space, the study of fuel systems for future monthly missions and a better understanding of heart disease.
This is the sixth crewed mission that the private company SpaceX, headed by controversial billionaire Elon Musk, performs on behalf of NASA. The program is based on a USD 2.6 billion deal that NASA and SpaceX signed nearly 10 years ago as part of the space agency’s efforts to transfer all transportation to and from the ISS to the private sector so that NASA can focus on exploring the deeper Solar system. Earlier we reported on how Crew-5 mission astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti took a goodbye photo on the ISS.
According to CNET
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