Just before noon on Friday, a four-person multinational crew embarked on a six-month journey to the multinational Space Station aboard NASA’s Crew-11, leaving Florida.
The company’s Dragon capsule and crew were launched into orbit nine minutes after SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket flared to life atop Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39-A.
In addition to Russian cosmonaut Oleg Platonov and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Kimiya Yui, the capsule is carrying NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke.
The crew will arrive at the ISS in roughly 15 hours, and they are scheduled to dock on Saturday at around 3 a.m. ET. After arriving, they will spend roughly six months living and working in the orbiting lab while carrying out dozens of scientific experiments.
These include researching the effects of microgravity on viruses that kill bacteria and the division of plant cells. Additionally, they will conduct studies to generate a “higher volume of human stem cells and general on-demand nutrients.”
SpaceX is sending NASA astronauts to the ISS for the twelfth time with the Crew-11 mission. Following the Space Shuttle program’s retirement in 2011, the private business started transporting people to the station in 2020 as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program, removing a dependency on Russia for transportation.
Cardman, the mission commander, is going to space for the first time. In 2017, NASA chose the 37-year-old geobiologist to become a member of the astronaut corps. She was supposed to take off on SpaceX’s Crew-9 mission last year, but her assignment was rescheduled to accommodate astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams.
On the first human test flight of the spacecraft in June 2024, Wilmore and Williams had reached the station in Boeing’s Starliner capsule. However, hardware problems discovered during that flight led NASA to choose an other means of transportation for the crew, therefore the Starliner returned to Earth empty. With two seats available for Wilmore and Williams to use upon their return in March, NASA and SpaceX flew Crew-9 to the station.
“The transformation was unanticipated. However, space travel is not about me or any one person. Cardman stated, “It’s about what we can do together.” “I now have the chance to train with this incredible team. Life is a journey. I’m just thankful to be here, even though it takes several turns.”
It will be Mike Fincke’s fourth visit to the space station as a Crew-11 pilot. His first two trips were on board the Russian Soyuz capsule in 2004 and 2008. He traveled to the station in 2011 on Space Shuttle Endeavour, which was launched for the final time.
Since the initial crew of the space station arrived on October 31, 2000, humans have remained on board continuously. However, by the end of the decade, the orbiting outpost is scheduled to retire.
“Our space station is stunning. Prior to his launch, Fincke declared, “I’m really proud of our space station.” “This is something that I think that humans should just really remember of all the cool things we can do when we work together constructively.”
Yui Kimiya of Japan is making her second visit to the station. Oleg Platonov of Russia travels into space for the first time.
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