SpaceX Crew-13 Sets Record With Fast ISS Arrival
SpaceX’s Crew-13 mission launched four astronauts from Florida aboard a Falcon 9 rocket and reached the International Space Station in less than eight hours…
SpaceX launched four astronauts from Florida toward the International Space Station aboard a Falcon 9 rocket, carrying them to the orbiting laboratory in less than eight hours. The Crew-13 mission, launched on October 1, puts the crew on a six-month assignment of research and station maintenance.
The journey set a speed mark for a U.S. spacecraft traveling to the station, according to Space.com, which reported that no American spacecraft had reached the ISS in less time. The rapid trip followed a delay caused by an issue with the Crew Dragon capsule.
The launch was captured in a black-and-white infrared photograph that highlights the heat from the rocket’s engines as it rose from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
Fast trip. Long mission.
newsround: Four astronauts begin six months in orbit
NASA astronaut Jessica Watkins commands Crew-13. She is making her second trip to space. The other crew members are NASA astronaut Luke Delaney, Canadian Space Agency astronaut Joshua Kutryk and Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Teteryatnikov; the flight is the first space mission for each of them.
SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule launched on top of a Falcon 9 rocket and reached orbit about 10 minutes after liftoff, Space.com reported. The spacecraft then continued to the station, where the crew will live and work alongside astronauts already aboard.
The mission had originally been scheduled to launch on September 12. An issue with the Crew Dragon delayed the flight until October 1, according to the report. Space.com described the four astronauts as beginning a six-month stay in orbit.
The crew’s work will include science experiments and maintenance on the ISS. Those duties support the station’s role as an orbiting laboratory, while keeping its equipment and facilities operating for the astronauts who live and work there. The mission therefore combines research with the practical upkeep needed aboard the station.
Why the launch image matters
The infrared image gives a different view of a crewed launch: the engines’ heat and smoke stand out in monochrome, while the four astronauts sit inside a small capsule above the rocket. Space.com described the photograph as capturing the force of the launch and the people aboard the spacecraft.
For the crew, the dramatic ascent was only the beginning. After reaching the ISS in less than eight hours, Watkins, Delaney, Kutryk and Teteryatnikov began a mission expected to last six months.
Source: space.com
