SpaceX Dragon Relocated Aboard the International Space Station

Monday - May 8 2023, 07:37 UTC - 1 year ago

Four crew members aboard the International Space Station successfully relocated the SpaceX Dragon from one docking port to another, and it has been the first private spacecraft to ferray humans to the station. The craft is capabile of transporting 7 passengers to and from Earth, and it is the only craft that can bring substantial cargo from space.

Four crew members aboard the International Space Station took a short trip inside their SpaceX Dragon to relocate the spacecraft from one docking port to another.

The SpaceX Dragon, with Expedition 69 crew members Steve Bowen and Woody Hoburg of NASA, UAE (United Arab Emirates) astronaut Sultan Alneyadi, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev aboard, has successfully docked to the forward port of the Harmony module of the International Space Station at 8:01 a.m. EDT. They undocked from the space-facing port of the Harmony module less than an hour earlier.

This was the 27th spacecraft relocation in space station history. The move made room for the arrival of the uncrewed SpaceX Dragon carrying cargo to the station as part of the company’s 28th commercial resupply services mission for NASA, targeted to launch in June.

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-6 members are scheduled to return to Earth in August.

The Dragon spacecraft has the capacity to transport up to 7 passengers to and from Earth’s orbit and beyond. It stands alone as the only operational spacecraft with the ability to bring substantial cargo back to Earth. Moreover, it holds the distinction of being the first private spacecraft to ferry humans to the space station.