A SpaceX rocket safely lifted off from Florida on Sunday night carrying a crew of three US astronauts and a Russian cosmonaut on their way to the International Space Station (ISS) to oversee the arrival of two new rocketships during their half-year stint.
The autonomously operated Crew Dragon spacecraft, Endeavor, atop a two-stage Falcon 9 rocket, was launched at 10:53 pm from NASA's Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, Florida, on the Atlantic coast.
4 Astronauts Head To ISS
The astronauts should arrive at the orbiting lab on Tuesday. They will replace a crew from the US, Denmark, Japan, and Russia who have been there since August.
After three days of delay due to strong wind, space station commander Andreas Mogensen asked on X, formerly Twitter, "When are you getting here already?" According to SpaceX Launch Control, it was "fashionably late."
On Sunday night, there was nearly another postponement. Despite a last-minute rush of assessments due to a minor breach in the hatch seal, the SpaceX spacecraft was deemed safe for the duration of the flight.
NASA has ordered two rocketships, which will arrive during the new crew's six-month stay. Test pilots will board Boeing's new Starliner capsule in late April.
Sierra Space's Dream Chaser is a mini-shuttle that should arrive in a month or two.
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Astronauts Share Experience
Originally, NASA astronaut Jeanette Epps was supposed to pilot Boeing's Starliner, but the aircraft stalled due to technical issues. NASA finally switched her to SpaceX.
When she arrived in orbit, she stated, "I am in a New York state of mind right now. It is amazing," referencing the Billy Joel song.
Epps, a native of Syracuse, New York, is the second Black woman assigned to a lengthy station mission. She expressed before the flight that she is proud to serve as an example for Black girls and show them that spaceflight is an option for them, that this is not just for other people.
She worked as an engineer in 2009 before joining the CIA and Ford Motor Company. Epps was replaced in 2018 for never made public reasons, but she was supposed to launch a Russian rocket to the space station.
Grebenkin, a former Russian military officer, and Dominick, a pilot in the Navy, are both new to space. Barratt is the oldest full-time astronaut to travel in space and is a doctor now serving his third mission. He turns 65 in April.
"It's kind of like a roller coaster ride with a bunch of really excited teenagers," Barratt said after reaching orbit. As for his age, he said before the flight, "As long as we stay healthy and fit and engaged, we're good to fly."
On the Russian side of the space station, flight controllers are keeping an eye on a growing leak in the cabin. NASA program manager Joel Montalbano reported that the leak has increased in size in the last two weeks and the areas has been blocked off.
Furthermore, he noted that there is no impact on station operations or crew safety.
