CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — The International Space Station’s population swelled to 11 on Saturday with the triumphant arrival of SpaceX’s third crew capsule in less than a year. It’s the biggest crowd up there in more than a decade. All of the astronauts — representing the U.S., Russia, Japan, and France — managed to squeeze into camera view for a congratulatory call from the leaders of their space agencies. “In this tough situation around the world, I believe you have brought courage and hope for all of us,” Japanese Space Agency President Hiroshi Yamakawa said from his country’s flight control center, referring to the global pandemic.
A recycled SpaceX capsule carrying four astronauts arrived at the space station a day after launching from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. The Dragon capsule docked autonomously with the orbiting outpost more than 260 miles (420 kilometers) above the Indian Ocean. The hatches swung open a couple of ofhours later, uniting all 11 space travelers. “Man, it is awesome to see the 11 of you on the station,” said NASA’s acting administrator, Steve Jurczyk. He noted that this will be the norm now that SpaceX is regularly flying crews.
The newcomers will spend six months at the space station. They’ll replace four astronauts returning to Earth in their Dragon capsule on Wednesday to end a half-year mission. NASA deliberately planned for a brief overlap so the outgoing SpaceX crew could show the new arrivals around. Although this was SpaceX’s third crew flight for NASA, it was the first to use a vehicle that’s flown before, an essential part of a plan by SpaceX founder and chief executive Elon Musk to push to the moon and Mars. The Dragon capsule was used for SpaceX’s first crew launch last May, while the Falcon rocket soaring Friday hoisted crew two in November.
It was the first time two SpaceX crew Dragons were parked simultaneously — practically side by side. NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur — the commander and pilot of the returning Dragon — monitored their capsule’s flat-screen computers during the morning rendezvous. If necessary, they could have taken control, but the autonomous system did its job, much like a self-driving car. They were also checking into the space station: France’s Thomas Pesquet and Japan’s Akihiko Hoshide. Both have lived there before, as has Kimbrough. But it was the first station visit for McArthur. She flew up in the same seat and capsule named Endeavor as her husband, Bob Behnken, did on SpaceX’s debut crew mission.
The European Space Agency’s director-general, Josef Aschbacher, joked that the space station needs expansion with so many onboard. Pesquet — the first European to fly on a commercial crew capsule — noted that the space station has changed quite a bit since his last visit four years ago, with more people and types of spacecraft. “We’re so happy to see our friends,” he said. “We wish we could keep them a little bit longer, but not too long as well because 11 people is a lot on a space station.”
The aecord is 13, set during NASA’s space shuttle era. The current population includes six Americans, two Russians, two Japanese, and one French. It will shrink by four on Wednesday when three Americans and one Japanese depart for home and a splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico. NASA turned to private companies for space station deliveries after the shuttles retired in 2011. SpaceX began supply runs in 2012, honing its skills before launching astronauts and ending NASA’s reliance on Russia. NASA also hired Boeing for taxi service, but the Starliner capsule isn’t expected to fly astronauts until next year. The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
