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SpaceX Crew Dragon Capsule Carries Four Astronauts to the Space Station

A SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule lifted off into space atop a Falcon 9 rocket on Wednesday, November 10th, from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, sending the Crew-3 astronauts on a 22-hour journey to the ISS. This is SpaceX's third astronaut mission for NASA as part of the agency's Commercial Crew Program.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket takes off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center with Crew Dragon capsule on top 7 photos
Photo: NASA/Joel Kowsky
SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket takes off with Crew Dragon spacecraft on topFalcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon vertical on Launch Complex 39AFalcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon vertical on Launch Complex 39AFalcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon vertical on Launch Complex 39ACrew-3 astronauts test out their flight hardwareCrew-3 astronauts test out their flight hardware
The rocket took off together with the spacecraft, named Endurance by the crew, at 9:03 p.m. EST from Launch Complex 39A with NASA astronauts Raja Chari, Tom Marshburn, and Kayla Barron, and ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer on board.

The international crew is currently on its way to the orbiting lab. The Crew Dragon Endurance will dock autonomously to the space station's Harmony module on Thursday, November 11th, after a 22-hour flight.

SpaceX introduced several upgrades to the Crew Dragon system for this significant journey, building upon knowledge gathered from prior missions. As a result, the spacecraft now benefits from updated software that improves computer performance and reliability during re-entry. It also assists the spacecraft's docking procedures and mechanisms in reducing hardware interference on the space station.

Although the improved capsule will dock autonomously during Crew Dragon's flight, SpaceX will monitor a series of automatic maneuvers from its mission control center in Hawthorne, California. At the same time, NASA teams will monitor the ISS operations from its Johnson Space Center in Houston to ensure that everything goes accordingly.

"Ensuring our crews have safe transportation and continued access to space is an enormous responsibility," said Steve Stich, the manager with NASA's Commercial Crew Program. "We know the crew is excited to get on station and settle into their long duration mission. The NASA and SpaceX team remains vigilant in support of their safe arrival and eventual return to Earth."

The four astronauts will spend six months aboard the space station, where they'll conduct new scientific research in fields such as health technologies, materials science, and plant science.

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About the author: Florina Spînu
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Florina taught herself how to drive in a Daewoo Tico (a rebadged Suzuki Alto kei car) but her first "real car" was a VW Golf. When she’s not writing about cars, drones or aircraft, Florina likes to read anything related to space exploration and take pictures in the middle of nature.
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