SpaceX shared a great video showing Crew Dragon’s Draco engines pushing the spacecraft toward the International Space Station (ISS).
The autonomous maneuver took place on Wednesday, April 27, and marked the arrival of SpaceX astronauts Crew-4 at the orbital outpost after a 16-hour journey from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Video of Dragon’s Draco thrusters moving the spaceship closer to @Space_Station pic.twitter.com/0zBNYgAcDb
– SpaceX (@SpaceX) April 28, 2022
“The Dragon spacecraft is equipped with 16 Draco propulsion devices used to orient the spacecraft during the mission, including apogee / perigee maneuvers, orbit adjustment and position control,” SpaceX said on its website, adding that each of the them is capable of generating 90 pounds of power. in the vacuum of space.
NASA astronauts Kel Lindgren, Bob Hines and Jessica Watkins were on board the Crew Dragon, along with Samantha Christophoretti of the European Space Agency.
Shortly after the footage was taken, the spacecraft, called Freedom by the crew, successfully docked with the ISS. A little later, Crew-4 astronauts passed through the connecting hatch to enter the facility and meet the current occupants for the first time.
Crew Dragon will remain moored in the space station until the end of the Crew-4 mission, which is planned to last about six months.
The astronauts will then re-enter the capsule and disconnect, with Draco’s engines restarting to help the spacecraft and the astronauts return home safely.
The SpaceX capsule also contains eight SuperDraco engines capable of detonating a Crew Dragon up to half a mile from the launch vehicle in less than eight seconds in the event of an emergency shortly after launch. To date, SuperDraco engines have never been needed, but a few years ago SpaceX shared dramatic footage from an unmanned mission testing a safety system high above the Atlantic.
The Crew Dragon spacecraft has been carrying cargo to the International Space Station since 2012, while astronauts’ missions began in 2020.
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