SpaceX delivered a new crew to the International Space Station on Saturday, completing the journey in just 15 hours, UNN reports with reference to AP.
Details
Four American, Russian, and Japanese astronauts arrived in a SpaceX capsule after launching from NASA's Kennedy Space Center. They will spend at least six months in the orbital laboratory, replacing colleagues who have been working there since March. SpaceX will return these four on Wednesday.
Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke from NASA, Kimiya Yui from Japan, and Oleg Platonov from Russia are "moving in" to the station, each of whom was initially assigned to other missions.
Cardman and another astronaut were removed from a SpaceX mission last year to make room for two stranded NASA astronauts — Boeing Starliner test pilots Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, whose stay on the space station increased from one week to more than nine months. Fincke and Yui were preparing for the next Starliner mission. But since the Starliner launch was halted due to engine problems and other issues until 2026, they switched to SpaceX.
Platonov was excluded from the Soyuz launch crew several years ago due to an unknown illness.
With their arrival, there were temporarily 11 people on the ISS.
Although their flight was fast by American standards, the record for the fastest journey to the ISS belongs to the Russians - three hours, the publication writes.
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