Photo: SpaceX
After SpaceX was forced to delay its Crew-6 Mission launch plans again earlier this week, the company successfully launched the four-astronaut crew on Thursday morning using its Falcon 9 booster and Dragon spacecraft.
The company also shared some stunning photos from the launch and stage separation of the Dragon spacecraft from the booster.
Details of the launch were updated on SpaceX’s website, including the fact that it launched at 12:34 a.m. ET, marking Dragon’s sixth operational human spaceflight mission to the International Space Station (ISS).
Photo: SpaceX
Following the launch, SpaceX’s Falcon 9 booster was landed aboard the Just Read the Instructions droneship.
Crew-6 is made up of NASA astronauts Stephen Bowen and Warren “Woody” Hoburg, United Arab Emirates astronaut Sultan Saif AlNeyadi and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev.
SpaceX says the crew will conduct more than 200 technology demonstrations and science experiments aboard the ISS, including “physical sciences to advanced materials, technology development, in-space production applications, and even student-led research.”
Following the launch, the Dragon spacecraft will autonomously dock on the ISS at about 1:17 a.m. ET on Friday, March 3.
Upon arrival, astronauts from SpaceX’s Crew-5 Mission will prepare to board the spacecraft and return to Earth from a roughly six-month stint at the ISS.
At the time of writing, SpaceX’s webcast of the launch isn’t actively streaming, though the company’s website says it will resume coverage roughly two hours before the Dragon spacecraft docks.
SpaceX pointed out this is Dragon’s ninth human spaceflight mission in less than three years, a remarkable achievement.
