A SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule safely arrived at the International Space Station (ISS) early on March 3.
The SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft called Endeavour was carrying two U.S. astronauts Stephen Bowen and Warren Hoburg, a Russian cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev and a United Arab Emirates (UAE) astronaut Sultan Alneyadi on a six-month science mission.
The group will spend six months on the International Space Station (ISS) conducting a range of experiments, including studying human cell growth in space and controlling combustible materials in microgravity. It marks the sixth long-duration ISS team mission flown to space by SpaceX.
Elon Musk’s SpaceX
SpaceX, founded by billionaire Elon Musk, has developed highly efficient reusable rockets that have been sending astronauts and equipment missions into space for NASA since May 2020. The company’s partnership with NASA has helped the U.S. space agency reduce its reliance on Russian rockets for sending American astronauts to space.
The Crew
The crew is led by Stephen Bowen, a 59-year-old U.S. Navy submarine officer who has already spent over 40 days in orbit and completed seven spacewalks. He is accompanied by Warren “Woody” Hoburg, a 37-year-old NASA astronaut who is making his first spaceflight, and two other astronauts, Sultan Alneyadi from the UAE and Andrey Fedyaev from Russia.
The Mission
The Crew Dragon capsule used by SpaceX is due to arrive at the ISS approximately 25 hours after the launch. During their time on the ISS, the team will conduct at least 200 different experiments. The mission is particularly important as it will play a role in determining the duration of the human expedition on the Moon under NASA’s ambitious Artemis program.
International Space Station (ISS)
The ISS is jointly run by space agencies from Russia, Japan, Canada, the U.S., and Europe. It has been continuously occupied by astronauts from all the participating countries for over 21 years.
The ISS initially planned to end its operations in 2024, but NASA extended the date of its operations until 2030 after being instructed by the White House in 2021. However, Russia’s Roscosmos expressed reservations about the decision to extend the ISS’ operations and plans to quit the station by 2024 to focus on building its own orbiting outpost in space.