SpaceX’s Crew Dragon Docks With Space Station
Washington, April 27: US private space company SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule which carries four astronauts autonomously docked with the International Space Station (ISS) on Wednesday.
The spacecraft, dubbed Freedom by the mission’s crew, was launched at 3:52 am Eastern Day Time (EDT) (local time) on Wednesday from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
It docked with the ISS after about 16 hours of flight.
The Crew-4 flight carries three NASA astronauts – Mission Commander Kjell Lindgren, Pilot Bob Hines, and Mission Specialist Jessica Watkins, and one astronaut of the European Space Agency, Mission Specialist Samantha Cristoforetti.
During their time at the orbiting laboratory, the four astronauts will conduct over 200 science experiments in areas such as materials science, health technologies, and plant science to prepare for human exploration beyond low-Earth orbit and benefit life on Earth, according to NASA. The Dragon capsule and the Crew-4 astronauts will depart the station and return to Earth no earlier than September.
