A little while ago, SpaceX’s Crew Dragon Endurance spacecraft docked with the Harmony module of the International Space Station completing the first part of its Crew-7 or SpaceX Crew-7 mission that began with its launch almost 30 hours earlier. After checking that the pressure gets properly balanced, the hatch will be opened to allow Jasmin Moghbeli, Andreas Mogensen, Satoshi Furukawa, and Konstantin Borisov to enter the Station and start their mission, which will last about six months.
The Crew Dragon spacecraft is equipped with an automated docking system to the International Docking Adapter (IDA). The approach procedure, with safety as the top priority, has been extensively tested during previous missions of the Crew Dragon spacecraft.
The International Space Station’s position in its orbit counts a lot in calculating the time needed to reach it. If possible, a date is chosen for the launch that allows for a journey that does not exceed much more than 24 hours to limit the time spent by astronauts in transit. The journey of the Endurance was a bit longer because the launch was delayed to complete a check-up of some valves in the life support system.
After the Crew Dragon Endurance spacecraft reached the orbit from which it began chasing the International Space Station, flight commander Jasmin Moghbeli stressed that the crew is international but form a united team with a united mission. In fact, the Crew-7 mission includes people from four different nations representing four different space agencies. The International Space Station was built to achieve this kind of collaboration between nations as well and in this time of tensions, it’s important that this continues.
The Crew-7 mission’s crew is about to meet the Crew-6 mission’s crew, who are scheduled to be back to Earth in a few days. While the first crewed mission of Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft continues to be delayed, this time, until no earlier than March 2024, SpaceX offers the security of independent space missions from Russia. International collaboration is great, but it’s crucial for other nations to have independent access to orbit.
