HATCH OPENS: SpaceX Crew-2 Astronauts Join International Space Station Crew

By  //  April 24, 2021

11 Humans now aboard ISS, a new record

(NASA) – NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur, along with JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Akihiko Hoshide, and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Thomas Pesquet aboard the SpaceX Crew Dragon have arrived at the International Space Station.

Crew-2 joins Expedition 65 crew of crew of Shannon Walker, Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover, and Mark Vande Hei of NASA, as well as Soichi Noguchi of JAXA and Roscosmos cosmonauts Oleg Novitskiy and Pyotr Dubrov.

The crew members first opened the hatch between the space station and the pressurized mating adapter at 7:05 a.m. EDT then opened the hatch to Crew Dragon.

NASA TV will continue to provide live coverage through the welcoming ceremony with leadership from NASA, ESA and JAXA to greet the crew on station. The welcome ceremony is targeted to begin about 7:45 a.m. with the following participants:

– Steve Jurczyk, acting NASA administrator
– Kathy Lueders, associate administrator, Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters
– Hiroshi Yamakawa, president, JAXA
– Josef Aschbacher, director general, ESA