NASA, SpaceX Crew-5 astronauts mission arrives at the International Space Station

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-5 mission He arrived at the International Space Station on Thursday afternoon.

The agency said the Dragon Endurance spacecraft docked at the complex shortly after 5 p.m. ET.

After Dragon joined the Harmony unit, the hatch opened at 6:49 p.m. ET, following standard leak and pressure checks.

NASA astronauts Nicole Mann and Josh Casada, JAXA astronaut Koichi Wakata and Roscosmos astronaut Anna Kekina join the Expedition 68 crew.

NASA’s SPACEX CREW-5 mission takes off to the space station

NASA astronauts Nicole Mann and Josh Casada, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Koichi Wakata and Russian Roscosmos cosmonaut Anna Kekina arrived at the International Space Station on Thursday, October 6. (credit: NASA TV/Fox News)

For a short time, the number of crew in the orbital laboratory will increase to 11 people until the departure of Crew-4.

That departure is scheduled to happen in about a week.

NASA astronaut Nicole Mann enters the space station less than two hours after the Dragon Endurance crew ship docked at the Harmony module’s forward port. (credit: NASA TV)

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 Endurance Rocket It was launched from Launch Complex 39A of the Kennedy Space Center in Florida at noon EST.

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Journey to the space station It lasted 29 hours and the crew is scheduled to stay for up to six months before returning to Earth next year.

SpaceX Endurance crew ship lifts off atop a Falcon 9 rocket from Kennedy Space Center in Florida carrying four Endurance 5 crew members to the space station. (credit: NASA/Joel Kosky)

“It was a fantastic launch,” said Joel Montalbano, ISS program manager at Johnson Space Center. “Just a wonderful day to be in human spaceflight.”

Crew-5 marks the first spaceflight for Mann, Cassada and Kikina, and the fifth for Wakata.

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Mann became the first Native American woman in space.

It was the first time in 20 years that a Russian had boarded a flight from the Kennedy Space Center.