Undocking of the SpaceX Cargo Dragon CRS-23 from the International Space on 30 September 2021. This timelapse video was made during ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet’s second mission to the International Space Station, “Alpha”. The camera is setup to take pictures at intervals of two a second, and the pictures are then edited into this video that plays at 25 pictures a second. The video is around 12 times faster than real speed until the SpaceX Cargo Dragon undocks and the video shifts to six times faster.

Thomas shared this video on social media with the caption:

“Cargo Dragon CRS-23 undocking last week, seen from the windows of its cousin Crew Dragon. Mixed emotions to think that the next such undocking from the Space Station will be... us! First though we welcome visitors this week and the next crew up here in their Dragon, looking forward to seeing you soon Tom, Kayla, Raja and Matthias – also known as Crew 3 and of course my good friend Anton!”

Over 200 experiments are planned during Thomas’ time in space, with 40 European ones and 12 new experiments led by the French space agency CNES.

Latest updates on the Alpha mission can be found via @esaspaceflight on Twitter, with more details on ESA’s exploration blog via thomaspesquet.esa.int.

Background information on the Alpha mission is available at www.esa.int/MissionAlpha with a brochure at www.esa.int/AlphaBrochure.