SpaceX will carry four astronauts to the International Space Station

Scheduled for departure on Thursday but postponed due to “adverse weather conditions”, takeoff will take place from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 5:49 a.m. Friday.

Four crew members of the Crew-2 mission, Thomas Pesquet for the European Space Agency, American astronauts Shane Kimbro and Megan McArthur and Japanese Akihiko Hoshaid, departed at 2:20 a.m. and boarded three white Teslas before their loved ones. , Which became a tradition for SpaceX, which carried them to the launch pad.

The license plates of all three cars are in English Recycler, Reuse And Reduce – The mission reuses already used rocket and capsule.

The weather seems to be cooperating, so we should try to leave tomorrow !!!, Shortly before Thomas Pesquet tweeted that he would be the first European to fly the Crew Dragon capsule.

Your friends SSIInternational Space Station Waiting for us and we do not like to be late, they recently prepared my room and literally made my bed. Guest house Five stars, he joked.

Since there were three Russians on the plane, the station was unusually populated, with no less than 11 people on board.

In addition to Thomas Pesquet for the European Space Agency, there are two American astronauts, Shane Kimbro and Megan McArthur and the Japanese Akihiko Hoshaid on a mission called Crew-2.

All of these are already in space.

The European Space Agency called it the Mission Alpha, A reference to the stellar system Alpha Centauri, which is close to our solar system.

SpaceX, founded by Elon Musk, settled with NASA for space transport at a time when Boeing’s Starliner capsule was accumulating delays in its test flights.

This is the third time SpaceX has been sent to humans SSIInternational Space Station As part of a multi-billion dollar deal with NASA.

Success of SpaceX’s first manned test aircraft in May 2020 Broke the Russian monopoly on aircraft SSIInternational Space Station And after the end of the spaceship program, the ability to achieve this feat was restored to the Americans Shuttle In 2011.

When it comes to preparing for an operation, it is always easier the third time, NASA takeoff manager Daniel Forrestel told AFP.

I do not describe space travel as a “routine”; “More familiar” is more appropriate, Added.

Friday’s flight will reuse the Thruster‌ from the unmanned test mission, the first and the crew dragon spacecraft will remain on the manned test flight last May.

Speaking to reporters, Thomas Pesquet emphasized Europe’s commitment to its presence in space.

This is very important to us as a (space) agency because we are part of the program SSIInternational Space Station We plan to participate in what has been going on for 20 years now and beyond, The French man, Artemis, specifically mentions the manned flight program to the moon.

As part of the SpaceX mission this fall, German Matthias Maurer will be the next European, followed by Italian Samantha Cristofaretti in the spring.

Thomas Pesquet told AFP he was excited about the idea of ​​cruising in a very different, futuristic and completely autonomous crew dragon capsule to the Russian Soyuz ships he knew.

It’s a finished process, it’s so awesome, we always know what’s going on, He he said.

At Soyuz, this is very reliable, but you need to understand this information (…) scattered around the dashboard., That’s why training is so much more.

Crew Dragon capsule sits on top of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket and is ready for launch yesterday afternoon. The mission will take the four astronauts on board to the International Space Station.

Photo: Reuters / Steve Nesius

The four astronauts will meet the crew-1 team for a few days.

It becomes a pajama party atmosphere Ben Stall, who works on the crew-2 mission, said the astronaut was sleeping in every docked spaceX capsules.

During the six-month mission, the team will be responsible for conducting approximately 100 scientific experiments. Among the favorites, according to Thomas Pesquet, is the study of weightless effects on brain organoids (mini-brains created in the laboratory).

Scientists hope this research will help space companies prepare for missions that will expose space distress for a long time and fight brain disease on Earth.

Another important part of the mission was to release the station’s solar power system like a huge yoga mat by installing new compact panels.