Astronauts aboard SpaceX Crew Dragon arrive at space station

Screenshot from a video taken on April 24, 2021 shows astronauts aboard the SpaceX Crew Dragon are greeted with hugs by the crew members on the International Space Station. (Credit: NASA)

The Crew-2 mission is the second of six crewed missions NASA and SpaceX will fly as part of the agency's Commercial Crew Program.

WASHINGTON, April 24 (Xinhua) -- The four astronauts aboard the SpaceX Crew Dragon arrived at the International Space Station (ISS) on Saturday.

The team includes U.S. astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur, France's Thomas Pesquet, and Japan's Akihiko Hoshide.

The SpaceX Crew Dragon Endeavour docked to the ISS at 5:08 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT).

After leak checks and preparations, the crew members first opened the hatch between the ISS and the pressurized mating adapter at 7:05 a.m. EDT, then opened the hatch to Crew Dragon, according to NASA.

The arrival of the four astronauts, in the Crew-2 mission, added the number of crew on the ISS to 11 people.

Members of the Crew-1 mission, which consists of NASA astronauts Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover, and Shannon Walker, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Soichi Noguchi will leave the ISS and begin the journey home on Wednesday.

The Crew-2 mission was launched from NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Florida, early Friday. It was the first time that Elon Musk's SpaceX reused a capsule and a rocket to launch astronauts.

It is the second of six crewed missions NASA and SpaceX will fly as part of the agency's Commercial Crew Program.

The Crew-2 members will conduct science and maintenance during a six-month stay aboard the orbiting laboratory and will return no earlier than Oct. 31, according to NASA.