The Crew-5 mission was launched from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Oct. 5, carrying a Dragon (Endurance) spacecraft atop a Falcon 9 rocket. After a 29-hour orbital chase, Endurance finally connected with the International Space Station (ISS) on Oct. 6.
Crew-5 Reaches International Space Station
According to Space.com, at 5:01 p.m. EDT, Endurance made contact with the station's Harmony module's forward port. The two spacecraft were passing over the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of West Africa at 21:01 EDT. Then, 10 minutes later, the docking process was finished.
Around 6:45 p.m. EDT, the hatches between Endurance and the ISS were opened. About 10 minutes after that, the Crew-5 astronauts - NASA's Nicole Mann and Josh Cassada, Japan's Koichi Wakata, and cosmonaut Anna Kikina - floated into the orbiting lab. The team will spend five months residing aboard the ISS.
At 8:05 p.m. EDT, there will be a welcome ceremony where the newcomers will speak briefly. It will be live on Space.com.
Wakata told mission control just after that milestone occurred that it was a smooth ride. He said he could see all three happy faces back in zero-g. Then he said, "Thank you so much!"
Astronauts and Cosmonauts on the Crew-5 Mission
Mann, the first Native American woman in space, and Kikina, the first cosmonaut to fly aboard a SpaceX Dragon, have the honor of carrying personal mantles for this journey. Both, as well as Cassada are first-time space travelers; Wakata has gone to space five times.
SpaceX's Crew-3 mission was transported to and from the ISS by the Dragon Endurance. Four Crew Dragon capsules, which are updated and put through testing before each subsequent flight, are used by SpaceX. A brand-new heat shield, nose cone, and parachutes are among the components used by Endurance during flight.
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New and Old Rockets
Although Falcon 9, with a brand-new first stage, was used for the Crew-5 liftoff, SpaceX is also well known for using older rockets. The booster was dazzling white and clear of the soot typically seen on the company's reflown first stages. It was painted with NASA's worm insignia.
"We do like getting the new boosters," NASA's commercial crew program manager Steve Stich said in a post-launch press conference. He said every time SpaceX puts a new booster in the fleet; they continue to make safety enhancements to the boosters.
According to Stich, they enjoy the reflown boosters but greatly value the advancements and safety enhancements that a new booster would bring.
Seven crew members are already on board the ISS when the Crew-5 astronauts arrive. The countdown to Crew-4's departure from the station starts with the arrival of Crew-5. According to Sarah Walker, director of Dragon mission management at SpaceX, the departure will occur in roughly a week.
Walker said at the press conference following the launch that weather will determine when Crew-4 will return to the surface off the coast of Florida,
She said that they would continue to watch the weather. The vehicle onboard, supporting the Crew-4 mission, is healthy. They will watch for those conditions to bring the crew home safely.
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