SpaceX Delivered Four Astronauts to the International Space Station

• SpaceX delivered a new crew of astronauts to the ISS in a record time of just 15 hours.
• The four astronauts will spend on the station for at least six months.
• The arrival of the new astronauts increased the population on the station to 11 people.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida — SpaceX delivered a new crew of astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) in a speedy time — just 15 hours. Four astronauts from the USA, Russia, and Japan arrived at the station on Saturday after launching from NASA's Kennedy Space Center.

These astronauts, among them NASA's Zenon Kardman and Mike Fink, Kimiya Yui from Japan, and Oleg Platonov from Russia, will spend at least six months on the ISS, replacing colleagues who have been on the station since March. SpaceX intends to return the previous crew to Earth in mid-December.

Kardman and the other astronauts were transferred from a SpaceX flight of the previous rocket to free up space for two NASA astronauts who were stuck on the station due to problems with the Boeing Starliner spacecraft. Fink and Yui were preparing for the upcoming Starliner mission, but due to issues with the spacecraft, they had to switch to SpaceX.

Platonov had been removed from the launch list for Soyuz several years ago due to an unknown illness. The arrival of the new crew has increased the population on the ISS to 11 people.

Russians hold the record for the fastest transfer to the station — a total of three hours, making this flight the fastest by American standards.

Tags: Technology/Space