SpaceX Reaches Space Station in Just 8 Hours, Setting New NASA Record

American astronauts have set a new record by traveling from the ground to the International Space Station (ISS) in just eight hours.

NASA announced that the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft, which launched from the pad at Cape Canaveral, Florida, at 11:10 a.m. EST on October 1, successfully docked with the ISS at 7:05 p.m.

The flight time from launch to docking was the shortest ever recorded by any agency in the United States.

The Associated Press and other outlets reported that the mission was commanded by Black female NASA astronaut Jessica Watkins, accompanied by NASA astronaut Luke Delaney, Joshua Kutryk of the Canadian Space Agency, and Sergei Teteriatnikov of Russia's Roscosmos.

Watkins previously visited the ISS in 2022, marking the first time a Black woman has commanded an orbital spaceflight.

This mission is designated as Crew-13, marking SpaceX's 13th crewed flight for NASA.

Mindful that 13 is often considered an unlucky number in Western culture, the crew humorously emphasized "Lucky 13" ahead of the flight.

A Tesla vehicle bearing a "Lucky 13" license plate transported the astronauts to the launch pad, wishing for a successful flight.

A dragon doll named "Lucky" wearing a four-leaf clover around its neck also joined the crew aboard the spacecraft.

"We figured it couldn't hurt to bring along a little bit of extra luck," Watkins said. "We are the four luckiest people on or off the planet."

The crew will spend approximately six months on the space station researching human stem cell tissue.

They also plan to study crop production and blood flow abnormalities that occur in space.

The ISS has been operational since 2000 for various space research initiatives, including Mars exploration, and is now in its 26th year of operation.

To date, 280 astronauts from 26 countries have visited the station, and resident crews are rotated every six months.

SpaceX, the aerospace company led by Elon Musk, has been responsible for launching astronauts to the ISS since 2020.

(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.