In his video message posted on the HUNOR space programme’s Facebook page, Kapu said he and his team had been looking forward to the mission to the International Space Station as much as the rest of the nation.

"The one thing I regret about the mission and the preparations is that I couldn’t be there with all of you during those moments of anticipation at home," Kapu said. 

"But we’ll get to do this shortly after the mission. I am incredibly grateful and proud to be here as a Hungarian, and it was a special feeling to see our small country from space just a few minutes ago. I hope you will be just as proud of this mission as I am. See you soon."

The Ax-4 international commercial mission with Kapu on board lifted off from NASA's Kennedy Space Center at 8.31am on Wednesday. It is expected to dock with the ISS around 1pm CET today.

SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft carrying Hungarian astronaut Kapu docks with ISS

The SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft carrying the crew of the Ax-4 mission, including Hungarian astronaut Tibor Kapu, docked with the International Space Station at 12.31 CET on Thursday.

The spacecraft carrying the commercial mission’s four-member crew docked with the station’s Harmony module 28 hours after Wednesday’s launch from NASA's Kennedy Space Center.

The Crew Dragon fleet’s Grace space capsule docked to the ISS following a complex process requiring precise manoeuvres.

After completing the necessary checks, the Ax-4 crew will enter the ISS.

The docking process of Crew Dragon took place in the usual way, autonomously, with the crew having no direct control over the manoeuvres.

The crew's task was to continuously monitor the systems and be ready in case manual intervention was needed, the HUNOR programme told MTI.

After docking, a multi-stage safety check follows, and then approximately 1.5-2 hours after docking, the hatch doors can be opened and the crew can enter the ISS.

The Axiom-4 commercial mission is commanded by American astronaut Peggy Whitson, and the crew includes Tibor Kapu, Indian pilot Shubhanshu Shukla and Polish mission specialist Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski.

Following the successful docking, the science phase of the mission begins, with the crew conducting about 60 scientific experiments and research on the ISS.

Some 2 hours after docking, having completed security checks, leakage checks and pressure control, Axiom-4's hatch opened and the crew joined ISS by floating through the Harmony module of the station at 2.23pm CET, welcomed by the 7 crew of ISS.

NASA video available here

 

Source: MTI – Hungary’s national news agency since 1881. While MTI articles are usually factual, some may contain political bias, and readers should be aware that such content does not reflect the position of XpatLoop, which is neutral and independent.

Since the goal of XpatLoop is to keep readers well briefed, right across the spectrum of opinions, MTI items are shared to ensure readers are aware of all narratives within the local media.

XpatLoop believes in empowering readers to form their own views through complete and comprehensive coverage. To facilitate this XpatLoop has a balanced range of news partners, as you can see when you surf around XpatLoop.com

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