The essential
The first stage of the SpaceX rocket, which took off successfully on Friday, has come off to land on a platform at sea, while the docking of the Crew Dragon capsule to the orbital station is due to take place this Saturday morning.
Thomas Pesquet became the first European to fly aboard a Crew Dragon capsule.
For his second trip to space, he embarked on a six-month mission.
The Crew-2 team will be responsible for carrying out 232 scientific experiments, including 40 ordered by the European Space Agency.
Today's events
“Our friends on board the ISS are waiting for us and we don't want to be late, they very recently prepared my room and literally made my bed”, joked the Frenchman Thomas Pesquet during the final preparations.
Read also 23 hours of flight, a stowage then a busy schedule on the ISS: what awaits Thomas Pesquet
On Friday, he took off successfully, along with three other astronauts - two Americans and a Frenchman - in the SpaceX rocket, towards the International Space Station.
This is the third such mission of the private group since the United States resumed manned space flights.
The first stage of the rocket came off and landed on a platform at sea on Friday, while the docking of the Crew Dragon capsule at the orbital station is scheduled for this Saturday morning, after 23 hours of flight.
10 hours. Not a direct trip.
The Crew Dragon must have made more than ten turns around the Earth, gradually approaching the Space Station, before docking. The spacecraft should arrive on the ISS this Saturday at 11:10 am, but the capsule must be on the same line as the Station. This maneuver is automated, but astronauts can intervene if necessary.