LOS ANGELES, April 27, 2022 (Xinhua) The Crew Dragon capsule, belonging to US private space company SpaceX and carrying four astronauts, docked independently with the International Space Station on Wednesday.
The spacecraft, dubbed “Freedom” by the mission’s crew, was launched at 3:52 a.m. EDT (07:52 GMT) Wednesday from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
It docked with the International Space Station after a 16-hour flight.
The Crew-4 flight will carry three NASA astronauts, mission leader Kjell Lindgren, pilot Bob Hines, mission specialist Jessica Watkins, and one ESA astronaut, mission specialist Samantha Cristoforetti.
During their time in the orbiting laboratory, the four astronauts will conduct more than 200 science experiments in fields such as materials science, health technologies and plant sciences to prepare for human exploration beyond low Earth orbit and benefit life on Earth, NASA said.
The Dragon capsule and the astronauts of the “Cro-4” flight will leave the station and return to Earth no later than September.