SpaceX has released some remarkable footage (below) showing a Crew Dragon spacecraft zipping through space, with the Pacific Ocean several hundred miles below.
Aboard the Crew Dragon were NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov as they made their way to the International Space Station (ISS) in SpaceX’s Crew-9 mission.
Dragon flying over the Pacific Ocean on its way to the @Space_Station. Docking is targeted for ~5:30 p.m. ET → https://t.co/FrV7sLMZvj pic.twitter.com/IDdDE5v0pE
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) September 29, 2024
In another video, this one released by NASA, we get a similar view.
The @SpaceX Dragon spacecraft is nearing the space station for a docking to the Harmony module as it soars over the Pacific Ocean. Watch live… https://t.co/uJmA8PK1Qk pic.twitter.com/Xz6yF8r75H
— International Space Station (@Space_Station) September 29, 2024
A few hours later, the Crew Dragon reached the orbital outpost before docking, enabling the two Crew-9 crew members to board and meet their nine colleagues already stationed there.
The videos were shared on X, and some commenters wondered how the footage had been captured. While one quipped that a selfie stick had been used, the reality is that it was shot from a camera aboard the ISS. With the station orbiting Earth at a speed of around 17,500 mph, it’s essential for the Crew Dragon to match this speed for docking, which is why the ISS is able to track the spacecraft’s movement so perfectly.
When a spacecraft docks with the ISS, it looks as if only the incoming vehicle is moving, and even then, at a very slow speed. But in reality, both are hurtling through space at 17,500 mph.
Hague and Gorbunov arrived safely at the ISS on Sunday. Crew-9 was originally supposed to involve four crew members, but two seats had to be left empty for NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore, who will travel home with Hague and Gorbunov at the end of the Crew-9 mission in February. Williams and Wilmore arrived at space station in June on the first crewed flight of Boeing’s Starliner, but issues with the spacecraft prompted NASA to bring it home empty. The decision meant that for Williams and Wilmore, a 10-day stay aboard the ISS suddenly turned into an eight-month mission.