Crew-13’s Dragon spacecraft reached the International Space Station on October 1 and docked at the Harmony module’s forward port. Its four-person crew completed the journey in seven hours and fifty-five minutes, the fastest launch-to-docking trip by a US spacecraft, according to NASA. The arrival completes the destination step that was still ahead after the launch reported in the previous edition.
Crew-13 completed its journey to the International Space Station on October 1. The Dragon capsule docked at the forward port of the station’s Harmony module with four people aboard. The arriving crew includes NASA astronauts Jessica Watkins and Luke Delaney, Canadian Space Agency astronaut Joshua Kutryk, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Teteryatnikov. Docking brought the crew to its destination after the launch from Florida.[1], [2]
The trip from liftoff to docking took seven hours and fifty-five minutes. NASA described it as the fastest launch-to-docking journey to the station by a US spacecraft. Dragon’s capsule on this flight is named Grace. The orbital geometry allowed the short journey: the timing and relative positions of the spacecraft and station made this approach possible.[1]
The four astronauts are expected to spend about six months aboard the station. A handover is planned with Crew-12 before that earlier crew returns to Earth. The new arrival advances the mission beyond its launch milestone: Crew-13 is now attached to the station where its expedition will take place. The earlier account of departure left docking ahead; the completed arrival is the new step in the mission’s sequence.[1]
