Three astronauts from NASA and one cosmonaut from Russia are currently on their way to the International Space Station.
Three NASA astronauts and a cosmonaut blasted off on a flight to the International Space Station on Sunday, the first of two launches by NASA and the Russian space agency to replace five of the lab’s seven crew members and to deliver a fresh Soyuz ferry ship for two cosmonauts midway through a yearlong flight.
The launch of Crew 8, consisting of commander Matthew Dominick, co-pilot Michael Barratt, Jeanette Epps and cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin, took place at 10:53 p.m. EST on Sunday after experiencing scrubs on Friday and Saturday. They were lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with a powerful roar.
The Falcon 9’s first stage, which can be used multiple times, completed its first flight and autonomously returned to land precisely at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. It had previously propelled the upper stage and Crew Dragon spacecraft out of the lower atmosphere. This marks the 48th successful landing of a booster in Florida and the 279th successful recovery for SpaceX.
In August of last year, the spacecraft was launched from the Kennedy Space Center and is currently completing a 200-day mission. Once they have briefed the incoming Crew 8 on the operations of the station, the members of Crew 7 will undock on March 11th and come back to Earth.
I am in disbelief that this adventure is coming to an end,” Moghbeli wrote on social media. “This has been my dream since I was a young girl. I was worried that I would be disappointed after having such lofty expectations my whole life, but if anything, this journey has exceeded all of my expectations.”
Dominick is an individual who identifies as a “nerd” and enjoys computer programming as a hobby. He is also a Navy pilot who has completed over 400 landings on aircraft carriers and has participated in 61 combat missions.
NASA
During an interview with CBS News, he expressed his lifelong identity as a nerd and acknowledged that the space program is a realm beloved by nerds.
Barratt is a doctor and astronaut who is going on his third trip to space. He has a lot of experience walking in space and even helped write a medical book while he was on the station in 2009. During his current mission, he intends to work on a new version of the book. He will also have the unique opportunity to celebrate his 65th birthday while in orbit in April.
Even though he is 25 years older than his Crew 8 commander, he laughs and says he is able to keep up with him.
Barratt stated that he was feeling very well and was prepared for spacewalks. He will be one of the main astronauts participating in spacewalks with his crewmate Matt Dominick. Despite a large age gap, Barratt is able to keep up with Dominick during joint training sessions in the pool.
“I believe the contrast lies in the fact that he will go home and exercise, while I will stay on the sofa and shed some tears,” Barratt chuckled. “Despite this, we work together in perfect harmony.”
Epps, a previously employed analyst for the CIA and holder of a doctoral degree in aerospace engineering, is set to become the second African American woman to partake in a lengthy space mission. In 2009, she was selected to be a part of NASA’s astronaut team and underwent training in Russia for a Soyuz flight to the space station scheduled for 2018. However, without providing any reason, NASA removed her from the crew just before the mission.
Following a period of training to fly on Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft, she was appointed to Crew 8, the final member of her astronaut group to embark on a space mission.
As she arrived at the Kennedy Space Center, she joked, “They always save the best for last!”
NASA/Roscosmos
Grebenkin rounds out the crew, named to the Crew 8 flight as part of a U.S.-Russian agreement to launch a cosmonaut on each Crew Dragon — and a NASA astronaut aboard each Russian Soyuz spacecraft.
The goal is to have at least one person from each country present on the station at all times, even if a Crew Dragon or Soyuz crew has to leave unexpectedly due to an emergency. Grebenkin is the fourth astronaut to participate in this arrangement.
On March 11, the departure of Crew 7 will pave the way for the Russians to send a new Soyuz ferry to the space station, along with NASA astronaut Tracy Dyson who will be replacing O’Hara.
On March 21, Dyson will travel to the station alongside commander Oleg Novitskiy and guest flier Marina Vasilevskaya using Soyuz MS-25/71S. On April 2, Novitskiy, Vasilevskaya, and O’Hara will return to Earth using the Soyuz MS-24/70S spacecraft, which also brought Kononenko, Chub, and O’Hara to the station 12 days earlier.
last September.
Dyson is scheduled to come back to Earth in September of the following year, accompanying Kononenko and Chub on the Soyuz MS-25/71S spaceship provided by Novitskiy. While Dyson’s total time in space will be six months, the Russian astronauts will have spent over 373 days in orbit.
The longest single space flight record belongs to cosmonaut Valery Polyakov, lasting 438 days aboard the Russian Mir space station in 1994-1995. The U.S. record was achieved by astronaut Frank Rubio in 2022-2023, logging 371 days on the ISS.
More
More
Source: cbsnews.com