SpaceX Delivers New Crew to International Space Station

SpaceX Delivers New Crew to International Space Station
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SpaceX successfully delivered a fresh crew of four astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) on Saturday, completing the journey from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in a swift 15 hours, Arab News reported.

The international crew, comprising NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, Japan’s Kimiya Yui, and Russia’s Oleg Platonov, arrived at the orbiting laboratory. They are slated to spend at least six months on the ISS, replacing colleagues who have been aboard since March. SpaceX is scheduled to bring the outgoing crew back to Earth as early as Wednesday.

The new arrivals were each initially assigned to other missions. Cardman was previously reassigned from a SpaceX flight to accommodate two NASA astronauts whose stay aboard the station was extended due to issues with Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft. Similarly, Fincke and Yui had been training for the next Starliner mission but switched to SpaceX after Starliner was grounded until 2026 due to technical problems. Platonov’s assignment was adjusted from a Soyuz launch a couple of years ago due to an undisclosed illness.

Their arrival temporarily increases the space station’s population to 11. While this 15-hour flight is considered rapid by U.S. standards, Russia holds the record for the fastest trip to the space station, achieved in just three hours.