SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft, with Russian cosmonaut Alexander Gorbunov on board, has successfully docked to the International Space Station (ISS). This flight is part of the cross-flight program between Roscosmos and NASA, which allows Russian cosmonauts to participate in missions on American ships and vice versa. In addition to Gorbunov, the crew includes American astronaut Nick Hague.
The spacecraft docked at 5:30 PM U.S. Eastern Time (00:30 Moscow time). The Crew Dragon's journey from the launch pad at Cape Canaveral took about 28 hours. The Crew-9 mission was originally planned with four cosmonauts, but was reduced to two to make room for the return of the Starliner crew in February 2025.
Gorbunov's flight on Crew Dragon is part of a cross-flight agreement under which Russian cosmonauts and American astronauts can fly on ships of both countries. In turn, the crew of the Soyuz MS-25 spacecraft, which arrived at the ISS earlier in September, included a Russian cosmonaut and an American astronaut, which strengthens cooperation between the countries in space.
The launch of Crew Dragon was scheduled for September 26, but was postponed to September 28 due to weather conditions.
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