SpaceX Dragon capsule arrives at International Space Station with Crew-3 mission astronauts

It took 21 hours for the flight from NASA's Kennedy Space Centre to reach the the orbiting lab.

Image credit: Twitter/SpaceX

Cape Canaveral: A SpaceX capsule carrying four astronauts has pulled up at the International Space Station, their new home until spring. It took 21 hours for the flight from NASA's Kennedy Space Centre to reach the glittering outpost on Thursday (November 11).

The one German and three US astronauts said it was an emotional moment when they first spotted the space station 20 miles (30 kilometres) distant  "a pretty glorious sight," according to Raja Chari, commander of the Dragon capsule. "Floating in space and shining like a diamond," noted German astronaut Matthias Maurer. "We're all very thrilled, very excited."

The Dragon's entire flight was automated, with Chari and pilot Tom Marshburn , ready to take control if necessary.

A new SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule carrying four astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) as part of the company's Crew-3 mission docked successfully at the orbiting lab today, the company says.

(Photo courtesy: NASA) pic.twitter.com/uFLGAYjih9 — ANI (@ANI) November 12, 2021

At one point, they reported what looked like a "gnarled knob" or possibly a small mechanical nut floating past their camera's field of view, but SpaceX Mission Control said it posed no concern. The docking occurred 263 miles (423 kilometres) above the eastern Caribbean.

The station's welcoming committee consisted of three astronauts instead of the originally planned seven. That's because SpaceX returned four of the station residents on Monday (November 8), after the new arrivals' launch kept getting delayed.

While Chari, Marshburn, Maurer and NASA astronaut Kayla Barron were adapting to weightlessness  all but Marshburn are space rookies  the previous crew was adjusting to life back on Earth. "Gravity sucks, but getting used to it slowly," Japanese astronaut Akihoki Hoshide tweeted.

The new crew will spend the next six months at the space station and, during that time, host two groups of visiting tourists. Russia will launch the first bunch in December and SpaceX the second in February.