Following a successful launch and deployment, the Dragon spacecraft began its 28 and half hour trip to the International Space Station (ISS).

Throughout this journey,the Dragon crew vehicle, called “Grace”, will perform a series of burns to slowly elevate and align the Ax-4 crew for docking with the ISS, which is known as the activation and rendezvous phase of the flight.

“In just a few minutes, the crew will swap out of their space suits to relax a bit more for the flight and will have their first meal on the spacecraft. Throughout their journey, they will also have a rest period lasting around eight hours. Before reaching the ISS, we’ll have three chances to have a quick chat with the crew onboard. We’re hoping one of these will pan out, but none are guaranteed as it depends on both the crew’s schedule and ground station coverage”, an Axiom official mentioned.

The spacecraft is set to dock on its own at the space-facing port of the Harmony module on the station.

As per SpaceX, after completing a series of burns to get the vehicle nearer to the ISS, the Dragon will carry out the final docking maneuvers, then pressurize the vestibule, open the hatch, and allow the crew to enter.

Thorough Inspections

The docking is expected to take several hours since thorough inspections will be conducted, after which the Ax-4 crew will make their way into the ISS.

“When the Ax-4 team gets to the ISS, they’ll be welcomed by the crew already on the space station from NASA, JAXA, and Russia’s Roscosmos”, the official mentioned.

The planned docking time at the space lab is around 7 a.m. Eastern Time (4:30 p.m. IST) on Thursday (June 26).

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