The astronauts arrived at the ISS after the early departure of the crew due to medical problems
Four new astronauts arrived at the International Space Station on Saturday, restoring the lab to full capacity after several of their colleagues were forced to leave earlier last month due to health issues.
US, French and Russian astronauts and cosmonauts launched from Cape Canaveral on a SpaceX rocket on Friday for a 34-hour journey.
“That was quite the approach,” NASA Administrator Jessica Meir said shortly after the launch, according to BBC News. “We have left the Earth, but the world has not left us.”
The launch had previously been delayed twice due to weather.
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The SpaceX Dragon capsule carrying four new crew members approaches the International Space Station for docking on Saturday, Feb. 14. (NASA via AP)
Joining Meir for the next eight to nine months on the Space Station are NASA astronaut Jack Hathaway, Sophie Adenot of France and Andrei Fedyaev of Russia.
Meir, a marine biologist, and Fedyaev, a former military pilot, have both been on the ISS before. Meir was also part of the first all-female spacewalk in 2019.
Adenot is a military helicopter pilot and Hathaway is a captain in the US Navy.
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Adenot is only the second French woman in space.
“The spacecraft will take approximately 34 hours to automatically dock with the space station’s Harmony module at 3:15 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 14, while traveling at 17,000 mph in Earth orbit,” NASA said after Friday’s launch.
Crew 12 astronauts: pilot Jack Hathaway, Russian cosmonaut Andrei Fedyaev, commander Jessica Meir and ESA astronaut Sophia Adenot, of France, exit the Operations and Checkout building before heading to their launch Friday. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
“What a great start today,” NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said after the launch. “This campaign demonstrated in many ways what it means to focus on NASA.”
“A few weeks ago, we brought Crew-11 home early, brought Crew-12 forward for today’s launch day, all at the same time making preparations for the Artemis 2 mission, which will open the next window in early March,” he added.
“The flight is the 12th crew rotation with SpaceX to an orbiting laboratory as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. Crew-12 will conduct scientific investigations and technical demonstrations to help prepare humans for future exploration missions to the Moon and Mars, and to benefit humans on Earth,” said NASA.
NASA said the capsule will be launched at 4 p.m. CT after docking with the space station.
Before Saturday’s crew arrived, one American and two Russians remained on the space station, keeping it operational.
The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched from Cape Canaveral to the International Space Station on Friday. (Paul Hennessy/Anadolu via Getty Images)
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January’s health evacuation was the first in 65 years after NASA said a crew member suffered a serious health problem. The space agency did not disclose the nature of the health condition or the astronaut’s name, citing medical confidentiality.
The astronaut who had a medical emergency and three other crew members who had also launched returned to Earth more than a month after the decision was made to bring them home.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
