Space station reaches new record with all docking ports in use

by Clarence Oxford
Los Angeles CA (SPX) Dec 03, 2025

For the first time in the history of the International Space Station, all eight of its docking ports are occupied following the reinstallation of Northrop Grumman's Cygnus XL cargo spacecraft on the Earth-facing port of the Unity module. The visiting vehicles now attached are two SpaceX Dragon spacecraft, the Cygnus XL cargo ship, JAXA's HTV-X1 cargo vehicle, two Roscosmos Soyuz crew spacecraft, and two Progress cargo freighters.

The Cygnus XL spacecraft is flying Northrop Grumman's 23rd commercial resupply mission for NASA and was repositioned using the station's Canadarm2 robotic arm under the control of the robotics officer in Mission Control in Houston. NASA, Northrop Grumman, and Roscosmos jointly planned the move to clear the way for the arrival of the crewed Soyuz MS-28 spacecraft on Nov. 27. Cygnus is expected to stay at the station until no earlier than March 2026, when it will depart loaded with up to 11,000 pounds of trash and excess gear and then be commanded to reenter Earth's atmosphere and burn up.

While traffic at the station has reached this new configuration, the 10-member Expedition 73 crew continues a full slate of biology and physics research ahead of a crew rotation early next week. Three new crew members arrived Nov. 27 aboard Soyuz MS-28: NASA astronaut Chris Williams and Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergei Mikaev, who are scheduled to remain in orbit until July 2026 to conduct experiments that support people on Earth and future exploration missions. Kud-Sverchkov and Mikaev have already started a study of how long-duration spaceflight affects the microcirculatory system in the extremities, while Williams is assisting NASA crewmates with cargo activities.

On Dec. 8, the station's population will drop from 10 to seven as the Expedition 73 increment ends and Expedition 74 begins with the departure of NASA astronaut Jonny Kim and Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Alexey Zubritsky. The three will board Soyuz MS-27, undock from the Prichal module, and return to Earth for a parachute-assisted landing in Kazakhstan after about eight months in orbit following their launch and docking on April 8, 2025. In preparation, they have performed pressure and leak checks on their Sokol launch and entry suits, with Ryzhikov packing return cargo and Zubritsky handing over duties to incoming Roscosmos crew members.

Kim, Williams, and NASA Flight Engineer Zena Cardman reopened the Cygnus XL hatch after its reattachment and are continuing to unload several tons of research hardware and supplies delivered to the station on Sept. 18. The cargo supports new and ongoing investigations across multiple science and technology disciplines.

NASA Flight Engineer Mike Fincke and JAXA Flight Engineer Kimiya Yui focused their workday on microgravity research that cannot be duplicated on the ground. Fincke replaced computer hardware that supports a physics investigation aimed at improving methods for managing and preserving cryogenic fluids in spacecraft propellant tanks, then configured the NanoRacks Thailand Liquid Crystals experiment to examine the behavior of thin liquid crystal films in weightlessness. Yui completed measurements of cerebral artery blood flow and blood pressure as part of an investigation into how the brain regulates its blood supply in space, work intended to help physicians anticipate and treat spaceflight-related health issues.

In the Russian segment, Flight Engineer Oleg Platonov collected, processed, and photographed microbial samples from several locations on the station for later analysis to track the orbital complex's microbial environment. He also transferred data on structural vibrations experienced by the station to a laptop for further examination.