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Live: SpaceX Crew-10 mission docks with the International Space Station to relieve stranded astronauts
Topic:Spacecraft
13m ago13 minutes agoSun 16 Mar 2025 at 3:58am
A SpaceX rescue mission destined for the International Space Station (ISS) is underway, aimed at returning two astronauts who have been stranded in orbit since June 2024.
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3m agoSun 16 Mar 2025 at 4:08am
BREAKING: SpaceX's Dragon shuttle has successfully 'soft docked' with ISS
"Soft capture complete".
Those are the words we wanted to hear.
They mean that the SpaceX control centre in Florida has confirmed the space organisation's Dragon shuttle has successfully connected with the International Space Station (ISS).
The Dragon shuttle has a mechanism that extends from the spacecraft's main body to engage a connection with the ISS — that happened without issue at 2:04pm AEST.
The connection will now be firmed with two sets of six hooks that will pop out from Dragon's soft capture mechanism and lock onto the ISS.
The two spacecraft will then pressurise, and Dragon's top hatch will finally pop open — allowing its four on-board crew to join the astronauts on the ISS.
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SpaceX's Falcon 9 Crew-10 Dragon shuttle had to briefly pause after reaching Waypoint 2, which meant the spacecraft was just 20 metres in front of the International Space Station.
That pause was for the on-board crew and control centre in Florida to accurately make sure the shuttle was lined up in order to dock with the ISS.
It has since been given the all-clear to proceed with the docking.
That means it will slowly proceed towards the ISS's docking port, where it will extend a "soft capture" mechanism to grab hold of the station.
Two sets of six hooks will then extend to lock onto the ISS and secure a firm dock between the two spacecrafts.
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There is a lot that goes into any space mission, but also specifically one that involves docking with the International Space Station (ISS).
There are four crew members on-board SpaceX's Falcon 9 Crew-10 Dragon: Anne McClain, Nichole Ayers, Takuya Onishi and Kirill Peskov.
Here are the steps we've been made aware of that the shuttle has already taken, and is set to take to connect with the ISS:
Dragon took off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Friday, local US time.
Four hours prior to launch, the shuttle's crew underwent final medical checks. About 2.5 hours before launch, they were transported to the Space Centers' complex 39-A — where they were to take-off.
It took just nine minutes for the rocket to enter orbit after taking off, and 45 minutes after Dragon executed its first major burn to enter its initial orbit trajectory.
The shuttle has five major burns to undergo in order to dock with the ISS.
At 12:08pm PST (5:08am AEST Sunday) Dragon engaged a boost burn to bring it into orbit just 10km lower than ISS. That was followed by a close burn at 12:50pm PST (5:50am AEST Sunday).
At 1:34pm PST (6:34am AEST Sunday), Dragon underwent a Mid-course out of place burn and another transfer burn at 2:25pm PST (7:25am AEST Sunday) to bring it within a 2.5km radius lower than the ISS.
By 7:35pm PST (12:35pm AEST Sunday) Dragon kickstarted an approach initiation burn to move it within 7km behind the ISS and 2.5km below it.
It then was given approval to approach a checkpoint known as Waypoint 0 just after 8pm PST (1pm AEST Sunday) — which is just 400 metres below the ISS.
From there, it moved without pausing to Waypoint 1 by 8:48pm PST (1:48pm AEST Sunday), the next checkpoint, which is 220m directly in front of the ISS.
It is next due to pass by Waypoint 2, which is 20m in front of the ISS, before connecting with the ISS by driving in 12 hooks to the surface of the station to firmly dock.
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Hi there, I'm Luke Cooper and I'll be with you this afternoon for all of the live updates from a SpaceX rescue mission destined for the International Space Station (ISS).
The mission is aimed at returning veteran NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams who have been stranded in orbit since June 2024, when problems with their vessel's propulsion forced an extension of their planned eight-day stay.
SpaceX's Falcon 9 Crew-10 rocket took off at 7:03 pm local time on Friday from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
The rocket's Dragon spacecraft is currently in the process of approaching the ISS, to be able to dock with it in orbit.
If all goes well, the two astronauts are scheduled to depart the ISS on March 19.
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Veteran NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams flew Boeing's Starliner capsule to the ISS last year when problems with the vessel's propulsion forced an extension of their planned eight-day stay.
NASA at the time deemed it too risky for the duo to fly home on the craft, which returned to Earth empty in September.
SpaceX's Falcon 9 Crew-10 rocket took off at 7:03pm local time on Friday from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The rocket's Dragon spacecraft is expected to dock with the ISS at about 12:07am US Eastern Time (2:07pm AEST) on Sunday.
You can follow our live coverage of updates from SpaceX's Crew-10 mission in our blog below.
Posted13m ago13 minutes agoSun 16 Mar 2025 at 3:58am, updated6m ago6 minutes agoSun 16 Mar 2025 at 4:05am
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