The SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft has successfully docked with the International Space Station. As reported by IZ with reference to SpaceX, its mission is to change the crew, as well as return to Earth astronauts who remained in orbit longer than planned. The delay was caused by a malfunction of the Starliner spacecraft, due to which two crew members were unable to return home on time.
The spacecraft launched from Kennedy Space Center on March 14 and arrived at the station on March 16. Crew-10, consisting of NASA and JAXA astronauts and a Russian cosmonaut, is tasked with ensuring the stability of the ISS and facilitating the safe return of the previous crew. Crew-9, which was stranded on the station due to technical problems, is not scheduled to return to Earth until March 19.
Crew rotation is an important step in keeping the station alive. NASA and SpaceX continue to improve technologies for safely transporting astronauts. Thanks to Crew Dragon, it was possible to avoid a critical situation and return stranded astronauts home after an extended stay in orbit.
Recall that earlier we wrote that astronomers discovered 128 new moons of Saturn.