A few hours ago, SpaceX’s Crew Dragon Endurance spacecraft docked to the International Space Station’s Harmony module completing the first part of its Crew-3 or SpaceX Crew-3 mission that began yesterday with its launch. After checking that the pressure is correctly balanced, the hatch will be opened to allow Raja Chari, Thomas Mashburn, Matthias Maurer, and Kayla Barron to enter the Station. The Endurance reached the Station about 40 minutes earlier than the original schedule.
The Crew Dragon spacecraft is equipped with an automated docking system to the International Docking Adapter (IDA). The approach to the Station follows a procedure in which safety is the top priority, so every little step of the Crew Dragon is checked up. Only if all goes well in the spacecraft’s position and speed they can proceed with the next step and in case of problems it can be aborted at each step. During the previous missions, they successfully verified that this system worked correctly, but it’s always a sensitive procedure.
The third SpaceX astronaut transport mission in the regular crew rotation of the International Space Station concluded its first leg smoothly. The new crew members will remain on the International Space Station for approximately six months.
SpaceX’s crewed missions are also starting to become routine as much as that can be possible with human space travel. Raja Chari commanded the Crew Dragon Endurance spacecraft, the first time since 1973 that a rookie astronaut is the commander on a space journey. Sure, the Endurance practically traveled on its own but Raja Chari is a US Air Force Colonel with all the skills needed to deal with any contingencies during the flight.
The arrival of the Crew-3 mission’s astronauts, who complete the Expedition 66 aboard the International Space Station, still had some delays that led to the launch taking place 10 days behind schedule. Bad weather and a minor medical problem to one of the astronauts whose identity and nature were kept confidential resulted in the Crew-2 mission ending before the next one began. These are small glitches that are part of the normal launch management but in the end, everything went well and there are now seven people on the Station.
