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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — 4 astronauts headed to the Worldwide House Station on Sunday the place they are going to oversee the arrivals of two new rocketships throughout their half-year stint.
SpaceX’s Falcon rocket blasted off from Kennedy House Middle, carrying NASA’s Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt and Jeanette Epps and Russia’s Alexander Grebenkin.
The astronauts ought to attain the orbiting lab on Tuesday. They may change a crew from the U.S., Denmark, Japan and Russia, who’ve been there since August.
“When are you getting right here already?” house station commander Andreas Mogensen requested by way of X, previously Twitter, after three days of delay as a result of excessive wind. SpaceX Launch Management termed it “fashionably late.”
There was nearly one other postponement Sunday evening. A small crack within the seal of the SpaceX capsule’s hatch prompted a last-minute flurry of critiques, but it surely was deemed secure for the entire mission.
The brand new crew’s six-month keep consists of the arrival of two rocketships ordered by NASA. Boeing’s new Starliner capsule with take a look at pilots is due in late April. A month or two later, Sierra House’s Dream Chaser, a mini shuttle, ought to arrive. It’s for delivering cargo to the station, however not passengers but.
Epps was initially assigned to fly Boeing’s Starliner, which obtained slowed down with issues and stalled. NASA lastly switched her to SpaceX.
“I’m in a New York frame of mind proper now, it’s wonderful,” she mentioned upon reaching orbit, referring to the Billy Joel tune.
Epps, who’s from Syracuse, N.Y., is the second Black lady assigned to an extended station mission. She mentioned earlier than the flight that she is particularly proud to be a job mannequin for Black ladies, demonstrating that spaceflight “is an possibility for them, that this isn’t only for different folks.”
An engineer, she labored for Ford Motor Co. and the CIA earlier than changing into an astronaut in 2009. Epps ought to have launched to the house station on a Russian rocket in 2018, however was changed for causes by no means publicly disclosed.
Additionally new to house are Dominick, a Navy pilot, and Grebenkin, a former Russian army officer.
Barratt, a health care provider on his third mission, is the oldest full-time astronaut to fly in house. He turns 65 in April.
“It is type of like a curler coaster journey with a bunch of actually excited youngsters,” Barratt mentioned after reaching orbit. As for his age, he mentioned earlier than the flight, “So long as we keep wholesome and match and engaged, we’re good to fly.”
Flight controllers are monitoring a rising cabin leak on Russia’s aspect of the house station. The leak has doubled in measurement up to now few weeks and the realm has been sealed off, NASA program supervisor Joel Montalbano mentioned. He pressured there isn’t a affect to station operations or crew security.
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The Related Press Well being and Science Division receives help from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Instructional Media Group. The AP is solely liable for all content material.
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