New Delhi: The Axiom-4 crew, piloted by Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla, has safely reached and docked at the International Space Station nearly 28 hours after its liftoff from Florida.
At 4.00 pm Thursday, the spacecraft Grace Dragon docked in the lower Earth orbit over the North Atlantic Ocean, joining the Harmony module of the floating International Space Station (ISS) at its space-facing side, from where the Earth is visible below.
“Grace is happy to be on Harmony,” said Peggy Whitson to the ISS team while the final docking sequence drew to an end at 4.15 pm.
Grace Dragon, the SpaceX vehicle carrying the Axiom-4 crew, docked at the zenith (upward-facing) docking port of the Harmony module, making astronauts Shubhanshu Shukla, Peggy Whitson of America, Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski of Poland, and Tibor Kapu of Hungary the 288th visitors of the ISS since its establishment in 1998.
Smooth coordination between the Axiom-4 crew, NASA astronaut Nichole Ayers aboard the ISS, and ground control teams in Houston, Texas, ensured the safe docking of Grace. It will take two hours, starting from the docking period, to complete all checks and leak tests before the astronauts are finally allowed in the space station.
Harmony is a 2007 module connecting three different modules, Destiny, Kibo, and Columbus, to each other on the ISS. It provides essential components such as water, air, and electrical power to the space station. It has docking ports on the outside, allowing spacecraft, such as Grace or the 2023 SpaceX Dragon spacecraft, to dock.
Docking is the process by which any visiting spacecraft connects with the International Space Station. The docking takes place through ports available on the ISS in two phases—the initial soft capture of the spacecraft by the ISS port, followed by the hard mate or rigid locking of the two. After the soft capture, 12 hooks complete the hard mating between the spacecraft and the ISS.
The docking doesn’t just provide a way for astronauts to enter the ISS. It also establishes a full connection between the ISS and the spacecraft, their communication and power lines, through umbilicals. The umbilicals allow any incoming spacecraft and the ISS to share communication and power.
Before the astronauts enter the ISS, there are other procedures to ensure there are no leaks and to balance the air pressure inside Grace Dragon and the ISS. NASA astronaut Nicole Ayers, currently onboard the ISS, will open the hatch for the zenith docking port of the Harmony module while ensuring there are no leaks and that the spacecraft and the module have the same air pressure.
After alighting, the Axiom-4 crew will spend 14 days onboard the ISS, conducting scientific experiments and research in microgravity.
(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)
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