The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft carrying four astronauts successfully reached orbit on Friday, after launching from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The mission, dubbed Crew-7, is the fourth operational flight of the Dragon under NASA's Commercial Crew Program.
The crew consists of NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli, commander; ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Andreas Mogensen, pilot; JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Soichi Noguchi, mission specialist; and Axiom Space astronaut Larry Connor, private passenger. They will join the Expedition 69 crew on the International Space Station (ISS) for a six-month stay.
The Dragon spacecraft is the first commercial vehicle to carry humans to orbit and the first to dock autonomously with the ISS. It is also the first to feature a glass dome window that offers panoramic views of Earth and space.
The mission is part of NASA's efforts to foster a robust commercial space industry and to enable more scientific research and exploration in low-Earth orbit. It also marks the first time that an Axiom Space customer has flown to the ISS as part of a private spaceflight agreement.
The Dragon spacecraft is scheduled to dock with the ISS on Saturday at 5:10 a.m. EDT. A news conference with NASA and SpaceX officials will follow at 5:00 a.m. EDT. The news conference will be broadcast live on NASA TV and NASA's website.
The news conference will provide updates on the launch, orbit insertion, rendezvous, docking, and hatch opening of the Dragon spacecraft. It will also feature remarks from NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell, ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher, JAXA President Hiroshi Yamakawa, Axiom Space CEO Michael Suffredini, and ISS Program Manager Joel Montalbano.
The news conference will also include questions from media representatives who registered in advance. The public can also submit questions using the hashtag #AskNASA on Twitter.
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