SpaceX Crew-7 Dragon Capsule Docks with ISS

A SpaceX Dragon spacecraft carrying four astronauts docked with the International Space Station (ISS) on Sunday morning, August 27. The Crew Dragon capsule Endurance, named after the spacecraft that carried the first humans to the moon, arrived at the ISS at 8:39 a.m. EDT (12:39 GMT).

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The Crew-7 astronauts are Kjell Lindgren, Bob Hines, Jessica Watkins, and Samantha Cristoforetti. Lindgren is a veteran of two space shuttle missions, Hines is making his first spaceflight, Watkins is the first Black woman to serve on a long-duration ISS mission, and Cristoforetti is the second European woman to fly to the ISS.

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The Crew-7 astronauts will spend six months on the ISS, conducting research and maintenance on the orbiting laboratory. They will also welcome the arrival of the SpaceX Axiom-1 mission, which is scheduled to launch on October 12. The Axiom-1 mission will be the first all-private crew to visit the ISS.

The docking of the Crew-7 Dragon capsule marks the 25th time that SpaceX has successfully launched astronauts to the ISS. SpaceX has now launched more astronauts to the ISS than any other commercial spaceflight provider.

The Crew-7 mission is the second of three crewed missions that SpaceX is scheduled to launch for NASA this year. The Crew-8 mission is scheduled to launch in October, and the Crew-9 mission is scheduled to launch in December.

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The successful docking of the Crew-7 Dragon capsule is a major milestone for SpaceX and NASA. It demonstrates the continued reliability of SpaceX's crewed spaceflight system and the partnership between the two organizations. It also paves the way for future crewed missions to the ISS and beyond.