Four astronauts, three from NASA and one from the European Space Agency, arrived at the International Space Station on Thursday and docked their SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule with the orbiting laboratory to begin a six-month scientific mission. On Wednesday night, about 21 hours after launching the team and its capsule on the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, the launch was delayed by a week and a half due to a series of weather delays The docking took place around 6:30 pm.

According to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Crew Dragon spacecraft and space station named Endurance are flying about 260 miles (420 kilometers) over the eastern Caribbean Sea in Eastern Standard Time (5 am IST Friday). The Endurance crew consists of three American NASA astronauts-flight commander Raja Chari, 44 years old, mission pilot Tom Marshburn, 61 years old, mission expert Kayla Barron, 34 years old-and German astronaut Matthias Maurer, 51 years old, Europe Mission expert for the space agency.

Upon arrival, the crew conducted an inventory, conducted a standard leak check, and pressurized the space between the spacecraft in preparation for opening the door to the space station in about two hours. Real-time NASA video from the space station shows newcomers floating in the orbital outpost from their space capsule through a padded tunnel. Mark Vande Hei and his Roscosmos crew shared the Soyuz flight to the complex.

News Source : Gadgets 360