SpaceX Dragon Crew Ship Completes Relocation on International Space Station

The SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft approaches the Harmony module’s forward port for docking during its relocation maneuver above the United States. Credit: NASA TV

Four crew members aboard the International Space Station took a short trip inside their SpaceX Dragon to relocate the spacecraft from one docking port to another.

The SpaceX Dragon, with Expedition 69 crew members Steve Bowen and Woody Hoburg of NASA, UAE (United Arab Emirates) astronaut Sultan Alneyadi, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev aboard, has successfully docked to the forward port of the Harmony module of the International Space Station at 8:01 a.m. EDT. They undocked from the space-facing port of the Harmony module less than an hour earlier.

The SpaceX Crew Dragon Endeavour undocked from the zenith port of the Harmony module on the International Space Station and relocated for a docking to the forward port of Harmony on May 6. Aboard the Dragon for the brief flight were NASA astronauts Stephen Bowen and Warren “Woody” Hoburg as well as UAE (United Arab Emirates) astronaut Sultan Alneyadi and Roscosmos cosmonaut, Andrey Fedyaev. The maneuver opened the zenith port of Harmony for the arrival of a SpaceX cargo vehicle later this summer. Credit: NASA

This was the 27th spacecraft relocation in space station history. The move made room for the arrival of the uncrewed SpaceX Dragon carrying cargo to the station as part of the company’s 28th commercial resupply services mission for NASA, targeted to launch in June.

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-6 members are scheduled to return to Earth in August.

The SpaceX Crew Dragon Resilience is pictured during a relocation maneuver on April 5, 2021, carrying astronauts Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover, Shannon Walker, and Soichi Noguchi. Credit: NASA

The Dragon spacecraft has the capacity to transport up to 7 passengers to and from Earth’s orbit and beyond. It stands alone as the only operational spacecraft with the ability to bring substantial cargo back to Earth. Moreover, it holds the distinction of being the first private spacecraft to ferry humans to the space station.