International Space Station crowd swells to 11 after arrival of SpaceX crew
- ‘In this tough situation around the world, I believe you have brought courage and hope for all of us,’ said Japanese Space Agency President Hiroshi Yamakawa
- The newcomers will spend six months at the space station. They will replace four astronauts who will return to Earth in their own Dragon capsule on Wednesday
The International Space Station’s population swelled to 11 on Saturday with the jubilant arrival of SpaceX’s third crew capsule in less than a year.
It is the biggest crowd up there in more than a decade.
All of the astronauts – representing the United States, Russia, Japan and France – managed to squeeze into camera view for a congratulatory call from the leaders of their space agencies.
“In this tough situation around the world, I believe you have brought courage and hope for all of us,” Japanese Space Agency President Hiroshi Yamakawa said from his country’s flight control centre, referring to the global pandemic.
A recycled SpaceX capsule carrying four astronauts arrived at the space station a day after launching from Nasa’s Kennedy Space Center. The Dragon capsule docked autonomously with the orbiting outpost more than 420 kilometres above the Indian Ocean. The hatches swung open a couple hours later, uniting all 11 space travellers.