Nearly a day after they launched from Florida, four astronauts docked with the International Space Station on Friday morning. The Crew-2 mission will remain onboard for a six-month-long science mission.

As their first order of business, astronauts Raja Chari, Tom Marshburn, Kayla Barron, and European Space Agency astronaut Matthias Maurer opened the hatch of their Crew Dragon spacecraft Endurance and took part in the welcome ceremony with their new Expedition 66 crewmates.

With the new crew’s arrival, the total number of astronauts on the station goes up to seven, who are set to kick off a new set of scientific research on the flying outpost. “We can’t wait to see all the work you’re going to accomplish, and we’re looking forward to many more amazing experiences over the next six months while you are there,” Kathy Lueders, Nasa’s associate administrator for Space Operations told the astronauts.

The station was earlier occupied by astronaut Mark Vande Hei, Expedition 66 Commander Anton Shkaplerov and Flight Engineer Pyotr Dubrov of Roscosmos after the departure of the Crew-2 mission astronauts earlier this week.

It took 21 hours for the flight from Nasa’s Kennedy Space Center to the glittering outpost. The one German and three US astronauts said it was an emotional moment when they first spotted the space station 30 kilometres distant — “a pretty glorious sight,” according to Raja Chari, commander of the Dragon capsule.

“Floating in space and shining like a diamond,” noted German astronaut Matthias Maurer. “We’re all very thrilled, very excited.”

The Dragon’s entire flight was automated, with Chari and pilot Tom Marshburn monitoring the capsule systems, ready to take control if necessary. At one point, they reported what looked like a “gnarled knob” or possibly a small mechanical nut floating past their camera’s field of view, but SpaceX Mission Control said it posed no concern. The docking occurred 423 kilometres above the eastern Caribbean.

“I can’t tell you how happy I am to see these smiling faces,” Nasa astronaut Mark Vande Hei said after embracing each of the newcomers. “Every one of us, all seven of us, are friends, and we’re going to become even better friends as time goes on.”

While Chari, Marshburn, Maurer and Nasa astronaut Kayla Barron were adapting to weightlessness — all but Marshburn are space rookies — the previous crew was adjusting to life back on Earth. “Gravity sucks, but getting used to it slowly,” Japanese astronaut Akihoki Hoshide tweeted.

The new crew will spend the next six months at the space station and, during that time, host two groups of visiting tourists. Russia will launch the first bunch in December and SpaceX the second in February.

The Crew-3 mission had been repeatedly delayed before it launched on Thursday. The mission was initially planned to liftoff on October 31, however, weather conditions did not permit launch. The launch was then postponed to November 3 when a rare medical issue with one of the astronauts forced it to be delayed again. While Nasa did not disclose the name of the astronaut, it cleared it was not Covid-19.