On Wednesday at 18:00 Norwegian time, Elon Musk’s space company SpaceX conducted its fifth manned launch under the auspices of NASA from the Kennedy Space Center.
The launch was postponed due to Hurricane Ian, which swept through Florida last week.
On board are four astronauts who are expected to arrive at the International Space Station (ISS) at 10.57 p.m. Thursday.
Launching: Russia’s Anna Kekina, American Josh Casada, American Nicole Mann and Japan’s Koichi Wakata pose for a photo before the launch. Photo: Kevin Deitch/AFP/NTB
It’s important to celebrate diversity
The astronauts are scheduled to stay on the International Space Station for six months. Among other things, they will conduct research in cardiovascular diseases.
It’s kind of a historical dash, as it’s the first time ever that an Native American woman has been in space, says Pål Brekke, head of science at the Norwegian Space Center for TV 2.
The woman he’s referring to is Nicole Mann. She said before the launch that she was proud of representing Aboriginal people, writes AP News Agency.
It is important to celebrate our diversity, and to realize how important it is when we cooperate and unite.
John Herrington became the first Native American astronaut in space in 2002.
– For the first time in history
Among the passengers is 38-year-old Russian Anna Kekina. Also on board are a Japanese astronaut and two Americans.
It has been 20 years since the last time a Russian cosmonaut took off from the United States. In addition, there is another reason why Russia is historical.
It is the first time in history that a Russian cosmonaut has been launched by a commercial company. It’s also very interesting with the environment we have today with the war in Ukraine.
The war has led to a very strained relationship between the United States and Russia, but cooperation between the two countries is currently continuing in space.
Russia withdraws
In the last two weeks, an American astronaut was flown to the International Space Station by a Russian Soyuz rocket. According to Brikki, it is planned to launch three to four exchanges in the future.
– The reason they keep doing this is because they have been training for a long time for these special tasks. He adds that it is difficult to release people and replace astronauts with others.
Launch: A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off with the Dragon spacecraft on top from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on Wednesday. Photo: Joe Skipper/Reuters/NTP
Russia announced in July that it would withdraw from cooperation on the International Space Station in order to build its own space station, about which the United States has expressed disappointment.
The International Space Station is a collaboration between the USA, Russia, Canada, Europe and Japan and came into use in 1998.
Russia’s plan is to start building its own space station by 2024, but this could prove difficult due to Western sanctions against the country.
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