SpaceX Dragon capsule docks at ISS in record time with four astronauts

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SpaceX Dragon capsule docks with ISS in record U.S. crewed flight time
ContinuationSpaceX Dragon capsule docks at ISS in record time with four astronauts
A SpaceX Dragon capsule docked at the International Space Station in a record 7 hours and 55 minutes on Thursday, according to NASA, the fastest transit time for a U.S. spacecraft in ISS history.
The capsule, carrying NASA astronauts Jessica Watkins and Luke Delaney, Canadian astronaut Joshua Kutryk, and Russian cosmonaut Sergey Teteryatnikov, launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, earlier that morning. It connected to the station’s Harmony module at 19:05 local time (01:05 MESZ Friday), NASA said.
The expedited journey was enabled by the ISS’s orbital position at launch, according to reports. The previous crew, which arrived in February, took over 30 hours to reach the station.
After docking, the crew conducted standard checks before opening the hatch to the ISS. Watkins, Delaney, Kutryk, and Teteryatnikov are scheduled to remain aboard the station for approximately six months, replacing the outgoing crew of NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, French astronaut Sophie Adenot, and Russian cosmonaut Andrei Fedyaev. The outgoing team is expected to begin its return to Earth as early as Monday, depending on weather conditions.
The mission, designated Crew-13, marks SpaceX’s 13th crewed launch for NASA. The original September launch was delayed due to a leak detected on the spacecraft.
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