![]() ![]() ![]() Then the Crew-5 astronauts will set to work conducting spacewalks, during which astronauts exit the ISS, to maintain the space station’s exterior, as well as performing more than 200 science experiments. There will be a handover period, where the current ISS crew will help the newly arrived astronauts settle in before a separate Crew Dragon spacecraft brings the four astronauts who were part of SpaceX’s Crew-4 mission back home. “It was so wonderful, such a beautiful planet, then I felt very lucky to be able to call this planet our home.”Īfter reaching the ISS, the crew will join the seven astronauts already aboard the ISS - including four NASA astronauts, a European Space Agency astronaut and two Russian cosmonauts. “I still remember when I first flew and saw our beautiful home planet,” he recalled during an August press conference. Cassada has described Mann as one of his “closest friends on the planet.”Īs with Mann, this mission is the first trip to space for Cassada and Kikina.įor veteran astronaut Wakata, who has previously flown on both NASA’s space shuttle and Russia’s Soyuz spacecraft, this trip marks his fifth spaceflight mission. Mann and her fellow NASA astronaut Josh Cassada, who grew up in White Bear Lake, Minnesota, both joined NASA in 2013. ![]() READ MORE: Meet the space trailblazers of color who empowered others to dream “We just continue what was started many years ago, in 1975 when the Apollo-Soyuz crew worked together,” Krikalev said, referring to an in-space meet up in 1975 that became a symbol of post-Cold War cooperation between the United States and Russia. … We will do our job the best way: happy.”ĭuring a post-launch news conference, Sergei Krikalev, the executive director of Human Space Flight Programs at Roscosmos, commented on the significance of the US-Russian partnership. “I really love my crewmates,” Kikina told reporters after she arrived at the Florida launch site on Saturday. Frank Rubio launched to the ISS aboard a Roscosmos Soyuz capsule. Kikina’s flight comes just weeks after NASA’s Dr. Officials at NASA have said repeatedly that joint operations with Russia on the ISS, where the two countries are the primary operators, will remain isolated from the fray. Kikina, the Roscosmos cosmonaut, became the first Russian ever to launch on a SpaceX vehicle at a time when US-Russian relations are hitting near fever pitch over the Ukraine war. Never before has a woman taken on the commander role on a SpaceX mission, though a couple of women served in that position during the Space Shuttle Program. In her role as commander, Mann will be responsible for ensuring the spacecraft is on track from the time it launches until it docks with the ISS and again when it returns home with the four Crew-5 astronauts next year. “I think it’s important to celebrate our diversity and also realize how important it is when we collaborate and unite, the incredible accomplishments that we can have.” “I am very proud to represent Native Americans and my heritage,” Mann told reporters before launch. On this flight, Mann, a registered member of the Wailacki tribe of the Round Valley Reservation, became the first Native American woman ever to travel to orbit. The Crew-4 Dragon mission, for example, carried NASA astronaut Jessica Watkins, the first Black woman ever to join the ISS crew. With the return of astronaut launches from US soil, SpaceX has offered a stage for several historic firsts. The space agency collaborated with SpaceX for years to transition the task of shuttling people to and from the space station after NASA retired its Space Shuttle Program in 2011. Launching NASA astronauts to the space station aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft is nothing new. ![]()
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