11 People in the 'Space House': Welcome and Break Before Task Handover

The meeting began with greetings and photos, followed by an explanation of safety protocols in the new home. This is how the International Space Station crew welcomed four colleagues who arrived aboard a Dragon spacecraft, temporarily raising the number of residents in the orbital laboratory to 11.

According to NASA and the Canadian Space Agency, the Crew-13 mission’s spacecraft docked with the station on October 1, seven hours and 55 minutes after launch from Florida, setting the fastest launch-to-docking record for an American spacecraft in the station’s history.

However, docking did not mean immediate entry. It took about two hours to equalize pressure between the spacecraft and the station and to conduct a leak check before the hatch was opened.

The new crew includes Americans Jessica Watkins and Luke Delaney, Canadian Joshua Kutryk, and Russian Sergey Tret’yak. They will spend their first days adjusting to microgravity and familiarizing themselves with the station’s systems.

After arriving, the crew members slept in late on Friday and devoted the rest of the day to rest. Saturday’s schedule includes unloading the spacecraft, transferring safety equipment, and discussing emergency responsibilities.

The departing crew is scheduled to hand over duties to their new colleagues on October 4. The return journey of the Crew-12 members to Earth may begin on October 5, if weather conditions off the coast of California permit, bringing this temporary gathering in the space station to a close.