BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. — NASA and SpaceX’s Crew-3 astronauts successfully docked Thursday evening at the International Space Station.
7 p.m. update:
NASA and SpaceX confirmed the Crew Dragon spacecraft docked with the ISS at around 6:32 p.m.
Original report:
The Crew-3 astronauts will dock their SpaceX Crew Dragon at the International Space Station ahead of schedule tonight, at 6:33 p.m.
The four astronauts lifted off from Kennedy Space Center Wednesday in a dazzling nighttime launch.
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NASA astronauts Tom Marshburn, Kayla Barron and Raja Chari and European Space Agency astronaut Matthias Maurer will spend the next six months aboard the station after their Wednesday night launch.
WATCH: Crew-3 successfully blasts off from Kennedy Space Center following delays
The crew will be welcomed onto the station by NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei and his cosmonaut crewmates. The astronauts will be conducting a number of science and research investigations and are scheduled for a series of spacewalks in preparation for new solar arrays.
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READ: Crew-3 launch brings first-time spectators from around the globe to Titusville
Meanwhile, SpaceX is already preparing for its next flight. SpaceX plans to launch 53 Starlink satellites as soon as 7:40 a.m. Friday morning.
On Thursday, SpaceX completed a static test fire for the Falcon 9 that is expected to launch the satellites.
PHOTOS: Crew-3 successfully blasts off from Kennedy Space Center following delays
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