A new crew of four has docked at the International Space Station (ISS) aboard the Crew Dragon capsule, marking a significant milestone in space exploration. The fresh crew members, including Commander Anne McClain and co-pilot Nichole Ayers, will spend nearly 300 days in space before returning to Earth next week.
The Crew Dragon, launched from the Kennedy Space Center on Friday evening, successfully docked with the ISS early Sunday morning. After a textbook docking procedure, the crew opened the hatch and floated into the station, where they were greeted by veteran astronauts Aleksey Ovchinin, Ivan Vagner, and NASA astronaut Donald Pettit.
The new crew replaces Crew 9 commander Nick Hague, cosmonaut Alexander Gorbunov, Starliner commander Barry “Butch” Wilmore, and his pilot Sunita Williams. Hague and Gorbunov, who were launched last June, will help familiarize the new crew with space station operations before undocking and returning to Earth next week.
The arrival of Crew 10 marks an end to nearly three months-long Starliner mission for Wilmore and Williams, who have spent nearly 290 days in space since their launch last June. Their record-breaking flight is still short of the U.S. record set by astronaut Frank Rubio in 2022-23.
With Williams’ two previous stays aboard the ISS, she will move up to No. 2 on the list of most experienced U.S. astronauts with around 570 days in space overall. Former astronaut Peggy Whitson holds the top spot with 675 days over four flights.
Source: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/starliner-astronauts-replacement-crew-arrive-at-international-space-station