By akademiotoelektronik, 25/04/2022

DIRECT. Thomas Pesquet and his three teammates are now aboard the International Space Station

What there is to know

A little less than 24 hours after takeoff, the capsule carrying Frenchman Thomas Pesquet and his three teammates docked correctly with the International Space Station (ISS) on Saturday April 24. The maneuver took place around 11:10 a.m., according to the established schedule. The opening of the door of the Crew Dragon capsule, named Endeavour, for the four astronauts to enter the ISS, occurred around 1:45 p.m. Follow the situation in our live.

Automated maneuver. "The final approach is carried out autonomously in the last 200 meters," explains the European Space Agency in an infographic. Jean-François Clervoy, astronaut at the European Space Agency (ESA), estimates on franceinfo that it is a "complex maneuver because the ISS flies at 28,000 km / h, which represents approximately 8 kilometers per second, so one second of error is equivalent to 8 kilometers of difference between the shuttle and the station". “The crew will only intervene as a last resort,” he explains.

Trouble-free take-off. Everything went perfectly on Friday. After takeoff, the first stage of the rocket detached well before landing on a platform at sea. Subsequently, the second stage in turn detached correctly from Crew Dragon.

"It's great to be back in space." This was launched by American astronaut Shane Kimbrough when entering orbit on Friday. Thomas Pesquet and his teammates were then able to remove their suits, shared the first photos and videos. They also provided a tour of the capsule live on YouTube.