On Sunday, three NASA astronauts and a cosmonaut embarked on a journey to the International Space Station (ISS), marking the first of two launches planned by NASA and the Russian space agency.
The objective of the mission is to exchange five of the lab’s seven crew members and deliver a new Soyuz ferry ship for two cosmonauts halfway through a yearlong flight. Following launch delays on Friday and Saturday, Crew 8 commander Matthew Dominick, co-pilot Michael Barratt, Jeanette Epps, and cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket at 10:53 p.m. EST.
The Falcon 9’s reusable first stage, on its inaugural flight, autonomously returned to a precise landing at the nearby Cape Canaveral Space Force Station after propelling the upper stage and Crew Dragon beyond the lower atmosphere. This signified the 48th booster landing in Florida and SpaceX’s 279th successful recovery in total.
12 minutes after liftoff, the Crew Dragon spacecraft was deployed to navigate autonomously towards rendezvous and docking with the space station, scheduled for early Tuesday.
Crew reacts after delayed launch
Their six-month mission is underway, highlighting space as one of the few domains where the US and Russia maintain close cooperation despite the conflict in Ukraine. The team, consisting of three men and one woman, is aboard a capsule previously used in space four times by Elon Musk’s SpaceX firm. Their agenda includes conducting various experiments.
A SpaceX rocket, carrying three US astronauts and one Russian cosmonaut, has launched from Florida en route to the International Space Station (ISS).
Their research will involve cultivating artificial replicas of human organs to investigate degenerative diseases in the low-gravity environment, a feat not achievable on Earth.
Departing from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the crew launched at 22:53 local time (03:53 GMT on Monday).
The initial launch attempt on Saturday was postponed due to strong winds. Matthew Dominick leads the mission, joined by fellow Americans Jeanette Epps and Russian Alexander Grebenkin, all embarking on their inaugural spaceflight. The fourth crew member, physician Michael Barratt, is making his third journey to the ISS.
The International Space Station stands as a unique example of international collaboration among governments worldwide, with maintenance overseen by space agencies from Canada, Europe, Japan, the United States, and Russia. Dominick expressed his awe upon reaching space, describing the journey as an incredible ride to orbit.
He remarked on the cheers heard throughout the ascent and extended gratitude to SpaceX for their exceptional instructors, engineers, and operators, acknowledging their role in safely propelling them into orbit.
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