Four astronauts from four countries launched Saturday toward the International Space Station.
They should arrive at the orbiting laboratory in their SpaceX capsule on Sunday, replacing four astronauts who have lived there since March.
A NASA astronaut was joined on the predawn liftoff from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida by pilots from Denmark, Japan and Russia.
They shook gloved hands as they reached orbit.
It was the first American launch in which each spacecraft seat was occupied by a different country; up until now, NASA had always included two or three of their own on their SpaceX taxi flights.
A fluke at the time led to the assignments, officials said.
“We are a united team with a common mission,” NASA’s Jasmin Moghbeli radioed from orbit. Ken Bowersox, NASA’s space operations mission chief, added: “Wow, what a beautiful launch…and with four international crew members, it’s a really exciting thing to see.”
They should arrive at the orbital laboratory in their SpaceX capsule on Sunday.AP
Moghbeli, a Navy pilot serving as commander, is joined on the six-month mission by Andreas Mogensen of the European Space Agency, Satoshi Furukawa of Japan and Konstantin Borisov of Russia.
“To explore space, we have to do it together,” said the director general of the European Space Agency, Josef Aschbacher, minutes before takeoff. “Space is truly global and international cooperation is key.”
Astronauts’ paths into space couldn’t be more different.
Russian cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov, Danish astronaut Andreas Mogensen, NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli, and Japanese astronaut Satoshi Furukawa (from left), prepare to leave the Pay and Operations Building early Saturday, August 26, 2023. , before heading to the launch pad. PA
Moghbeli’s parents fled Iran during the 1979 revolution.
Born in Germany and raised on Long Island, New York, she joined the Marine Corps and flew attack helicopters in Afghanistan.
The first-time space traveler hopes to show Iranian girls that they, too, can aim high. “Believing in yourself is a really powerful thing,” he said before the flight.
This was the first American launch in which each spacecraft seat was occupied by a different country. AFP via Getty Images
Mogensen worked on oil rigs off the coast of West Africa after earning an engineering degree.
He told people puzzled by his choice of work that “in the future we would need drillers in space,” like Bruce Willis’s character in the killer asteroid movie “Armageddon.”
He is convinced that the experience on the platform led to his selection as Denmark’s first astronaut.
Liftoff was delayed one day for additional data checks on the valves in the capsule’s life support system. fake images
Furukawa spent a decade as a surgeon before performing the Japanese astronaut cut.
Like Mogensen, he has visited the station before.
Borisov, a newbie to space, turned to engineering after studying business.
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He runs a freediving school in Moscow and is a judge of the sport, in which divers avoid oxygen tanks and hold their breath underwater.
They pointed out that one of the advantages of an international crew is food.
Among the delicacies that skyrocket are Persian herb stew, Danish chocolate, and Japanese mackerel.
SpaceX’s first stage booster returned to Cape Canaveral several minutes after liftoff, an added treat for the thousands of onlookers gathered in the early morning darkness.
Liftoff was delayed one day for additional data reviews of the valves in the capsule’s life support system.
The countdown nearly stopped again on Saturday after a small fuel leak emerged in the capsule’s propulsion system.
SpaceX engineers managed to verify that the leak would not pose any threat with just two minutes left on the clock, said Benji Reed, the company’s senior director of human spaceflight.
The crew will be on the International Space Station for 6 months.AFP via Getty Images
Another NASA astronaut will arrive at the station from Kazakhstan in mid-September under a barter agreement, along with two Russians.
SpaceX has already launched eight crews for NASA.
Boeing was contracted at the same time nearly a decade ago, but has yet to fly astronauts. His crew capsule is grounded until 2024 due to parachutes and other issues.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn