World Courant
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — 4 astronauts headed to the Worldwide House Station on Sunday the place they are going to oversee the arrival of two new rocket ships throughout their six-month stint.
SpaceX’s Falcon rocket launched from the Kennedy House Heart, carrying NASA’s Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt and Jeanette Epps and Russia’s Alexander Grebenkin.
The astronauts ought to attain the orbiting laboratory on Tuesday. They are going to substitute a crew from the US, Denmark, Japan and Russia, who’ve been there since August.
“When are you coming right here already?” area station commander Andreas Mogensen requested by way of X, previously Twitter, after a three-day delay attributable to excessive winds. SpaceX Launch Management referred to as it “fashionably late.”
On Sunday night there was nearly one other postponement. A small crack within the seal of the SpaceX capsule’s hatch sparked a last-minute flurry of critiques, but it surely was deemed secure for the complete mission.
The brand new crew’s six-month keep contains the arrival of two rocket ships ordered by NASA. Boeing’s new Starliner capsule with take a look at pilots is predicted on the finish of April. A month or two later, Sierra House’s Dream Chaser, a mini-shuttle, ought to arrive. It’s for delivering freight to the station, however not passengers but.
Epps was initially assigned to fly Boeing’s Starliner, which skilled issues and stalled. NASA finally switched her to SpaceX.
“I am in a New York way of thinking proper now, it is wonderful,” she stated as she reached the room, referencing the Billy Joel tune.
Epps, a local of Syracuse, NY, is the second Black lady assigned to a long-station mission. She stated earlier than the flight that she is very proud to be a task mannequin for black ladies, demonstrating that spaceflight “is an possibility for them, that it is not only for different folks.”
She was an engineer and labored for Ford Motor Co. and the CIA earlier than changing into an astronaut in 2009. Epps was speculated to fly to the area station on a Russian rocket in 2018, however was changed for causes that had been by no means made public.
Additionally new to area are Dominick, a Navy pilot, and Grebenkin, a former Russian navy officer.
Barratt, a physician on his third mission, is the oldest full-time astronaut to fly in area. He’ll flip 65 in April.
“It is a bit like a rollercoaster experience with a bunch of actually excited youngsters,” Barratt stated after reaching the room. As for his age, he stated earlier than the flight: “So long as we keep wholesome, match and engaged, we’re good to fly.”
Flight controllers monitor a rising cabin leak on the Russian aspect of the area station. The leak has doubled in dimension in latest weeks and the world has been closed, NASA program supervisor Joel Montalbano stated. He emphasised that there will likely be no penalties for the station’s operations or the protection of the crew.
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4 new astronauts are heading to the Worldwide House Station for a six-month keep
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