'An amazing ride': SpaceX flight led by first Black female commander sets US speed record
Four astronauts pulled up at International Space Station after eight-hour express flight led by Jessica Watkins
TL;DR
- Four astronauts, including the first Black female commander Jessica Watkins, arrived at the ISS.
- The SpaceX Dragon capsule completed the journey in a record-breaking 7 hours and 55 minutes, the fastest for a US spacecraft.
- Jessica Watkins made history as the first Black woman to lead a crew to orbit.
- The new crew members are Americans Jessica Watkins and Luke Delaney, Canadian Joshua Kutryk, and Russian Sergey Teteryatnikov.
- Kutryk's wife is due to give birth while he is in space, and NASA has a history of facilitating communication during births.
- SpaceX also launched a Falcon rocket with satellites from California shortly after the ISS mission launch.
- The mission's Crew-13 designation pays homage to the Apollo 13 mission.