After a textbook launch and deployment, the Dragon spacecraft commenced its 28-and-half-hour journey to the International Space Station (ISS).

During this journey, the Dragon crew vehicle, named “Grace”, will execute a series of burns to gradually raise and line up the Ax-4 crew for docking with the ISS in what is referred to as the activation and rendezvous phase of the flight.

Getting comfortable

“In just a few minutes, the crew will change out of their space suits to get a little bit more comfortable for flight and will enjoy their first meal aboard the spacecraft. Over the course of their flight, they will also have a rest period that will last for about eight hours. Before they arrive at the ISS, we will have three potential opportunities to chat briefly with the crew onboard. We hope one of these will work out, none of them are guaranteed dependent both on crew schedule and ground station coverage,” an Axiom official said.

The spacecraft will dock autonomously to the space-facing port of the station’s Harmony module.

According to SpaceX, after executing a series of burns, which will move the vehicle closer to the ISS, the Dragon will perform final docking manoeuvres, followed by pressurization of the vestibule, hatch opening, and crew ingress.

Extensive checks

The docking is expected to last a few hours as extensive checks would be carried out, following which the Ax-4 crew members will float into the ISS.

“Once the Ax-4 crew arrives at the ISS, they would be greeted by the crew onboard the orbiting space station from NASA, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and Russia’s Roscosmos,” added the official.

The targeted docking time at the orbiting laboratory is approximately 7 a.m. Eastern Time (4.30 p.m. IST) on Thursday (June 26).