Axiom-4 Crew Settles into ISS Life After Successful Docking

News Desk: A day after the successful docking of the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft Grace at the International Space Station (ISS), the Axiom-4 crew has begun joint operations with the resident Expedition 73 team, marking the start of a busy schedule of adaptation, research, and collaboration. The Ax-4 crew—Peggy Whitson, Shubhanshu Shukla, Slawosz Uznanski, and Tibor Kapu—are acclimating to their new orbital home with support from the seven-member Expedition 73 team. After docking on June 26, the new arrivals set up their designated sleeping quarters across different modules: Whitson in the Airlock, Shukla in the Dragon capsule, Uznanski in Columbus, and Kapu in the Japanese Experiment Module (JEM). Initial activities included handover briefings, emergency protocol reviews, and an introduction to ISS systems and safety procedures. The Ax-4 crew also began unloading scientific hardware and portable freezers from Dragon, preparing for upcoming microgravity experiments. NASA flight engineer Anne McClain assisted with orientation and cargo transfers, while the Expedition 73 team continued its scheduled research, which included eye exams, space exercise monitoring, and lunar surface imaging. Ax-4 Commander Peggy Whitson, a veteran astronaut, captured the essence of their return to space with a photo of Earth from orbit, captioned: “I’ve missed this view.” The successful integration of the Ax-4 and Expedition 73 crews sets the stage for a productive mission focused on scientific research, international cooperation, and the continued expansion of commercial spaceflight.