SpaceX has published impressive footage of the Crew Dragon spacecraft flight. The video shows the capsule rushing through space, with the Pacific Ocean stretching far below. At that moment, NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov were aboard Crew Dragon, preparing to dock with the International Space Station (ISS) as part of SpaceX’s Crew-9 mission.
Dragon flying over the Pacific Ocean on its way to the @Space_Station. Docking is targeted for ~5:30 p.m. ET → https://t.co/FrV7sLMZvj pic.twitter.com/IDdDE5v0pE
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) September 29, 2024
NASA also published a similar video showing Crew Dragon’s approach to the station. In a few hours, the spacecraft reached orbit and prepared for docking with the ISS. This allowed two Crew-9 members to join the nine astronauts already working on the station.
The video quickly spread on social media, particularly on platform X, where users wondered how such footage was captured. One of the jokes suggested the use of a selfie stick, but it was actually done with the cameras aboard the ISS. The station is moving at an incredible speed of 28,200 km/h – therefore Crew Dragon must synchronize with it for a successful docking.
The @SpaceX Dragon spacecraft is nearing the space station for a docking to the Harmony module as it soars over the Pacific Ocean. Watch live… https://t.co/uJmA8PK1Qk pic.twitter.com/Xz6yF8r75H
— International Space Station (@Space_Station) September 29, 2024
Although it appears that only the spacecraft is moving, both objects are flying at breakneck speeds. Docking always looks slow, but it is actually a precisely calibrated process at high speed, because a careless sudden movement during this process can be fatal for both space objects.
Hague and Gorbunov arrived safely at the ISS on Sunday. The Crew-9 mission was originally planned for four crew members, but two places were left for NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore. Those astronauts are scheduled to return to Earth with Hague and Gorbunov in February, after the mission is completed. Williams and Wilmore arrived at the ISS in June on a Boeing Starliner spacecraft, but technical problems forced the space agency to return the spacecraft home without a crew, extending their stay on the station to eight months instead of the planned ten days.
Earlier we reported on how a Boeing Starliner astronaut was given command of the ISS instead of a Russian cosmonaut.
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