BREAKING: Tibor Kapu makes history as Hungarian astronaut reaches International Space Station! – UPDATE
The SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft carrying the crew of the Ax-4 mission, including Hungarian astronaut Tibor Kapu, docked with the International Space Station at 12.31 PM CET on Thursday!
The spacecraft carrying the commercial mission’s four-member crew docked with the station’s Harmony module 28 hours after Wednesday’s launch from NASA’s Kennedy Space Centre. The Crew Dragon fleet’s Grace space capsule docked to the ISS following a complex process requiring precise manoeuvres. After completing the necessary checks, Ax-4 crew will enter the ISS.
Rewatch the approach and docking below:
As we reported earlier today, Kapu checked in from space with an emotional message for all Hungarians: check out our report HERE!
UPDATE: Docking
The docking process of Crew Dragon took place in the usual way, autonomously, with the crew having no direct control over the manoeuvres. The crew’s task was to continuously monitor the systems and be ready in case manual intervention was needed, the HUNOR programme told MTI.
After docking, a multi-stage safety check follows, and then approximately 1.5-2 hours after docking, the hatch doors can be opened and the crew can enter the ISS. The Axiom-4 commercial mission is commanded by American astronaut Peggy Whitson, and the crew includes Tibor Kapu, Indian pilot Shubhanshu Shukla and Polish mission specialist Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski.
Following the successful docking, the science phase of the mission begins, with the crew conducting about 60 scientific experiments and research on the ISS.
UPDATE 2: Astronauts join ISS crew
Some 2 hours after docking, having completed security checks, leakage checks and pressure control, Axiom-4’s hatch opened and the crew joined ISS by floating through the Harmony module of the station at 2.23 PM CET, welcomed by the 7 crew of ISS.
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