SpaceX has launched some exceptional footage (beneath) exhibiting a Crew Dragon spacecraft zipping by area, with the Pacific Ocean a number of hundred miles beneath.
Aboard the Crew Dragon had been NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov as they made their option to the Worldwide Area Station (ISS) in SpaceX’s Crew-9 mission.
Dragon flying over the Pacific Ocean on its option to the @Space_Station. Docking is focused for ~5:30 p.m. ET → https://t.co/FrV7sLMZvj pic.twitter.com/IDdDE5v0pE
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) September 29, 2024
In one other video, this one launched by NASA, we get an identical view.
The @SpaceX Dragon spacecraft is nearing the area station for a docking to the Concord module because it soars over the Pacific Ocean. Watch dwell… https://t.co/uJmA8PK1Qk pic.twitter.com/Xz6yF8r75H
— Worldwide Area Station (@Space_Station) September 29, 2024
A couple of hours later, the Crew Dragon reached the orbital outpost earlier than docking, enabling the 2 Crew-9 crew members to board and meet their 9 colleagues already stationed there.
The movies had been shared on X, and a few commenters puzzled how the footage had been captured. Whereas one quipped {that a} selfie stick had been used, the fact is that it was shot from a digicam aboard the ISS. With the station orbiting Earth at a velocity of round 17,500 mph, it’s important for the Crew Dragon to match this velocity for docking, which is why the ISS is ready to monitor the spacecraft’s motion so completely.
When a spacecraft docks with the ISS, it appears as if solely the incoming automobile is transferring, and even then, at a really gradual velocity. However in actuality, each are hurtling by area at 17,500 mph.
Hague and Gorbunov arrived safely on the ISS on Sunday. Crew-9 was initially imagined to contain 4 crew members, however two seats needed to be left empty for NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore, who will journey house with Hague and Gorbunov on the finish of the Crew-9 mission in February. Williams and Wilmore arrived at area station in June on the primary crewed flight of Boeing’s Starliner, however points with the spacecraft prompted NASA to convey it house empty. The choice meant that for Williams and Wilmore, a 10-day keep aboard the ISS all of the sudden was an eight-month mission.
