SpaceX delivers four astronauts to the ISS just 15 hours after launch

SpaceX delivered a fresh crew to the International Space Station on Saturday, making the trip in a quick 15 hours.

The four US, Russian and Japanese astronauts pulled up in their SpaceX capsule after launching from NASA's Kennedy Space Center. They will spend at least six months at the orbiting lab, swapping places with colleagues up there since March. SpaceX will bring those four back as early as Wednesday.

Moving in are NASA's Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, Japan's Kimiya Yui and Russia's Oleg Platonov - each of whom had been originally assigned to other missions. "Hello, space station!” Fincke radioed as soon as the capsule docked high above the South Pacific.

Cardman and another astronaut were pulled from a SpaceX flight last year to make room for NASA's two stuck astronauts, Boeing Starliner test pilots Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, whose space station stay went from one week to more than nine months. Fincke and Yui had been training for the next Starliner mission. But with Starliner grounded by thruster and other problems until 2026, the two switched to SpaceX.

From left to right: Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov, NASA astronaut Mike Fincke, NASA astronaut and mission commander Zena Cardman and JAXA astronaut Kimiya Yui. AFP

Platonov was bumped from the Soyuz launch lineup a couple of years ago because of an undisclosed illness.

Their arrival temporarily puts the space station population at 11. The astronauts greeting them had cold drinks and hot food waiting for them.

While their taxi flight was speedy by US standards, the Russians hold the record for the fastest trip to the space station - a lightning-fast three hours.

Associated Press