New crew makes the quickest US flight to ISS
The SpaceX spacecraft carrying the Crew-13 team docked with the International Space Station in 7 hours and 55 minutes, setting a new record.
On Thursday, four astronauts embarked on the quickest US flight to the International Space Station (ISS), NASA officials announced. The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, carrying the Crew-13 crew, launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida at 11:10 a.m. local time. Remarkably, the capsule, SpaceX Dragon Grace, docked with the ISS just 7 hours and 55 minutes later, breaking records for both SpaceX and any American entity, including NASA.
The duration of ISS trips is largely influenced by the spatial relationship between the station and the spacecraft during launch. The ISS's proximity enabled the spacecraft to reach it swiftly. The previous US crew required over 30 hours to complete the journey, while a Russian Soyuz spacecraft holds the overall ISS record, landing in just over three hours in October 2020.
The new ISS crew, scheduled for mid-September, was delayed due to a leak in the Dragon. It comprises Jessica Watkins and Luke Delaney from the United States, Joshua Kutryk from Canada, and Sergey Teteryatnikov from Russia, who will become the first Black woman to lead a crew to orbit. The crew will spend six months at the ISS, replacing Crew-12, which is set to return to Earth on Monday.
Despite a decline in international cooperation following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the US and other ISS partners continue to collaborate with Russia. The ISS has been operational for 25 years, with NASA pledging to maintain its use through 2030.
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