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SpaceX and NASA sent four astronauts into space Monday night en route to the International Space Station (ISS). The mission went smoothly with the launch of a picture book and the perfect return of the Falcon 9 launcher to the drone ship in the Atlantic. Half a year after its historic maiden flight, SpaceX’s “Crew Dragon” spacecraft took off for the first time on a regular mission to space.
Tesla entrepreneur Elon Musk’s SpaceX team (49) put the famous comet capsule at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, into orbit. On board: the three American NASA astronauts Mike Hopkins, Shannon Walker and Victor Glover, as well as the Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi. What immediately catches your eye are the four-person team’s slim spacesuits compared to previous versions.
The comet capsule was launched on the tip of a “Falcon 9” rocket, the first stage of which returned to earth as planned after a few minutes and landed on a floating platform, a great success for SpaceX. The capsule is expected to dock with the International Space Station on Monday night (local time) after more than 27 hours of flight. The astronauts will stay aboard the ISS for six months and conduct scientific research. Astronaut Kate Rubins and her Russian colleagues Sergej Ryschikow and Sergej Kud-Swertschkow are currently at the station.
Trump celebrates a “great start”, congratulates Biden
The latest mission is the second this year that SpaceX, in partnership with NASA, sent astronauts into space. The youngest SpaceX crew, however, is the first trip as part of NASA’s “Commercial Crew” program. The mission marks a major milestone in America’s space program to isolate itself from the Russians, on whom the United States has relied heavily in recent years. Such space transports should be carried out regularly in the future and thus reduce the dependence of Americans on Russian space travel.
The newly arrived crew is the first to regularly fly the “Crew Dragon” to the ISS after the spring manned test was successful. The two American astronauts Douglas Hurley and Robert Behnken left for the ISS during this test in May and returned in August. It was the first time, after a hiatus of nearly nine years, that astronauts returned to orbit from US soil, and the first time they were promoted by a private space company. SpaceX had previously only transported cargo to the ISS.
Several providers are also competing for space tourism. SpaceX is proving to be a leading competitor in opening the door to this new travel destination. Soon-to-resign US President Donald Trump (74) spoke on Twitter of a “great start” and used the mission to signal NASA’s successes during his tenure. “NASA was a closed mess when we took over. Now it is again by far the “hottest” and most advanced space center in the world! ”Said Trump, who lost to his challenger Joe Biden (77) in the November 3 election. She congratulated immediately after the start. This is proof of the power of science “and what we can achieve if we restrict our innovation, ingenuity and determination.” (kes)
