SpaceX Crew5 Russian cosmonaut Anna Kikina gestures as she leaves the Operations and Checkout building before heading to Launch Pad 39-A at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., for a mission to the International Space Station Wednesday, Oct. SpaceX Crew5 astronauts, from row from left, Josh Cassada, Nicole Mann, second row from left, Russian cosmonaut Anna Kikina, and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Koichi Wakata leave the Operations and Checkout building before heading to Launch Pad 39-A at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., for a mission to the International Space Station Wednesday, Oct. SpaceX Crew5 Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Koichi Wakata waves as he leaves the Operations and Checkout building before heading to Launch Pad 39-A at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., for a mission to the International Space Station Wednesday, Oct. SpaceX Crew5 astronauts, from left, NASA astronaut Josh Cassada, Russian cosmonaut Anna Kikina, NASA astronaut Nicole Mann, and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Koichi Wakata leave the Operations and Checkout building before heading to Launch Pad 39-A at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., for a mission to the International Space Station Wednesday, Oct. She said she was surprised to be selected for the seat swap after encountering "many tests and obstacles" during her decade of training. Kakina is only the fifth Russian woman to rocket off the planet. astronauts continued to hitch rides on Russian rockets for tens of millions of dollars per seat. The 2003 Columbia reentry disaster put an end to it. NASA started flying cosmonauts on its space shuttles in 1994, first to Russia's Mir space station and then to the fledgling space station. "I hope we will cooperate together the way it was started in 1975," said Krikalev, while acknowledging he's trying to quell any friction between the two space agencies. Russia wants to build its own station in orbit later this decade, but he said that will take time and until it's ready, it makes sense to keep working with NASA. In the meantime, Russia remains committed to the space station through at least 2024, Russia space official Sergei Krikalev assured reporters after liftoff. NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said the key reason for the seat exchange is safety-in case an emergency forces one capsule's crew home, there would still be an American and Russian on board. The barter was authorized even as global hostilities mounted over Russia's invasion of Ukraine in late February. and Russian presence aboard the 260-mile-high (420-kilometer-high) outpost. The space agencies agreed over the summer to swap seats on their flights in order to ensure a continuous U.S. Kikina is the Russian Space Agency's exchange for NASA's Frank Rubio, who launched to the space station two weeks ago from Kazakhstan aboard a Soyuz rocket. 5, 2022, at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., beginning a five-month mission to the International Space Station. "I hope with this launch we will brighten up the skies over Florida a little bit for everyone," Wakata said before the flight.Ī SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and the Dragon capsule, with a multinational crew of four astronauts, lifts off from Launch Complex 39-A Wednesday, Oct. The weather was ideal as the Falcon rocket blasted into a brilliant noontime sky. Their SpaceX flight was delayed by Hurricane Ian, which devastated parts of the state last week. They're replacing a U.S.-Italian crew that arrived in April. They're due to arrive at the space station Thursday, 29 hours after departing from NASA's Kennedy Space Center, and won't be back on Earth until March. You've got three rookies who are pretty happy to be floating in space right now." They were joined by Japan Space Agency's Koichi Wakata, who is making his fifth spaceflight. Nicole Mann, the first Native American woman to orbit the world, and Navy Capt. She was among the three newcomers on the flight, alongside Marine Col. "We're so glad to do it together," said Anna Kikina, Russia's lone female cosmonaut, offering thanks in both English and Russian.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |