Four astronauts from four countries rocketed toward the International Space Station on Saturday.
They should reach the orbiting lab in their SpaceX capsule on Sunday, replacing four astronauts who have lived there since March.
A NASA astronaut was joined on liftoff from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida by aviators from Denmark, Japan and Russia.
They held each other’s gloved hands upon reaching orbit.
It was the first US launch where each spacecraft seat was occupied by a different country – until now, NASA has always included two or three of its own aircraft in its SpaceX taxi flights.
A mistake in timing led to the assignment, officials said.
“We are a united team with a common mission,” NASA’s Jasmin Moghbeli radioed from orbit. Added NASA’s Ken Bowersox, chief of the space operations mission: “Boy, what a beautiful launch … and with four international crews, it’s really something to behold.”
They should reach the orbiting lab in their SpaceX capsule on Sunday.AP
Moghbeli, a Marine pilot serving as commander, was 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 to space couldn’t be more different.
Russian astronaut Konstantin Borisov, Danish astronaut Andreas Mogensen, NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli and Japanese astronaut Satoshi Furukawa, (from left), prepare to leave the Operations and Checkout Building early Saturday, Aug. 26, 2023, before heading to the launch site. AP
Moghbeli’s parents fled Iran during the 1979 revolution.
Born in Germany and raised on New York’s Long Island, he joined the Marines and flew attack helicopters in Afghanistan.
The first-time space traveler hopes to show Iranian girls that they, too, can aim high. “Belief in yourself is something very powerful,” he said before the flight.
This was the first US launch where each spaceship seat was occupied by a different country. AFP via Getty Images
Mogensen worked on an oil rig off the coast of West Africa after getting an engineering degree.
He told a crowd puzzled by his choice of occupation that “in the future we’re going to need drillers in space” like Bruce Willis’ character in the killer asteroid movie “Armageddon.”
He is convinced that the platform experience led to his selection as Denmark’s first astronaut.
Liftoff was delayed a day for additional data review of valves in the capsule’s life support system. Getty Images
Furukawa spent a decade as a surgeon before making cuts to Japanese astronauts.
Like Mogensen, he had visited the station before.
Borisov, an aerospace rookie, switched to engineering after studying business.
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He runs a freediving school in Moscow and judges the sport, where divers dodge oxygen tanks and hold their breath underwater.
One of the advantages of the international crew, they say, is the food.
Among the soaring dishes: Persian herb stew, Danish chocolate, and Japanese mackerel.
SpaceX’s first stage booster returned to Cape Canaveral minutes after liftoff, an added treat for the thousands of spectators gathered in the early morning darkness.
Liftoff was delayed a day for additional data review of valves in the capsule’s life support system.
The countdown was almost halted again on Saturday after a small fuel leak appeared in the capsule’s propulsion system.
SpaceX engineers were able to confirm the leak would not pose a threat with just two minutes to go, said Benji Reed, the company’s senior director for spaceflight.
The crew will be on the International Space Station for 6 months. AFP via Getty Images
Another NASA astronaut will launch to the station from Kazakhstan in mid-September under a barter agreement, along with two Russians.
SpaceX has now launched eight crews for NASA.
Boeing was hired at the same time nearly a decade ago but has yet to fly an astronaut. The crew capsule is suspended until 2024 by parachutes and other issues.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
