The four astronauts of SpaceX’s Crew-11 mission have officially reached their destination in orbit. Their Crew Dragon capsule, Endeavour, docked with the International Space Station (ISS) early Saturday morning, just 15 hours after launching from Florida.
The hatches between Endeavour and the ISS are set to open around 4:45 a.m. EDT, followed by a welcome ceremony about an hour later. This docking marks a significant milestone, happening exactly five years after SpaceX’s first crewed flight, Demo-2. That mission also used the Endeavour capsule to send NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley to the ISS.
Crew-11 is led by NASA astronaut Zena Cardman, joined by seasoned astronaut Mike Fincke, JAXA’s Kimiya Yui, and Roscosmos’s Oleg Platonov. This is a remarkable moment for Cardman and Platonov as it’s their first spaceflight, while Yui is making his second and Fincke his fourth. Endeavour has now made six trips to space, making it SpaceX’s most-utilized crew capsule.
Currently aboard the ISS are seven astronauts, including JAXA’s Takuya Onishi, who is commanding Expedition 73, along with three NASA astronauts: Anne McClain, Nichole Ayers, and Jonny Kim. Two Russian cosmonauts, Kirill Peskov and Sergey Ryzhikov, complete the crew.
Crew-11 will replace Crew-10, which has been on the ISS since mid-March. After a brief overlap, the Crew-10 astronauts will return to Earth, sharing insights and experiences with their new colleagues.
SpaceX continues to expand its presence in space travel, having launched 11 operational missions to the ISS under NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. With eight additional crewed flights, including private missions through Axiom Space and free-flying ventures like Inspiration4 and Polaris Dawn, SpaceX’s contributions are reshaping human space exploration.
As interest in space travel grows, public excitement surges too. Social media buzzes with reactions from space enthusiasts celebrating these new milestones. In recent surveys, nearly 70% of Americans express support for more government investments in space exploration, underscoring a shift toward renewed interest in our cosmic possibilities.
For more information on crewed missions to the ISS, you can visit [NASA’s official site](https://www.nasa.gov). This ongoing journey into the final frontier holds promising potential for both scientific discovery and technological advancement.
