(Archyde.com)
A team of astronauts returned to Earth early Friday morning, following a flight launched by SpaceX to the International Space Station; The team landed in the Gulf of Mexico off Florida, ending six months of diverse orbital research that ranged from growing chili peppers in space to robotics.
The team is the third longest-serving team that SpaceX has sent for the benefit of the US Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), staying on the International Space Station.
The Crew Dragon capsule, carrying three American astronauts from NASA and a colleague from the European Space Agency from Germany, parachuted into calm waters in the dark at the conclusion of a more than 23-hour journey from the International Space Station.
A joint live broadcast between NASA and SpaceX via the Internet transmitted the landing of the capsule at regarding 12:45 am EST (04:45 GMT). The crew of the spacecraft, called Endurance, arrived at the space station on November 11.
Billionaire Elon Musk, CEO of electric car company Tesla, founded SpaceX in 2002. SpaceX provides Falcon 9 rockets and Crew Dragon capsules that currently transport NASA astronauts to orbit from Earth American.
The company also controls those flights and deals with vehicle recovery operations, while NASA prepares crews and launch facilities at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, and manages US operations at the space station. The company has launched a total of seven manned space flights in the past two years.
The crew returned to Earth with a cargo of regarding 250 kilograms, including research samples on the International Space Station.
In addition to performing regular maintenance while in orbit regarding 400 km above Earth, the astronauts have contributed to hundreds of scientific and technical experiments.
Highlights included studies of gene expression in cotton cells cultured in space, gas-flame combustion under microgravity conditions, and sequencing of bacterial DNA inside the station. The team also tested new robots and harvested hot peppers grown in orbit.
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SpaceX
SpaceX’s Crew-4 astronauts have climbed safely to the International Space Station (ISS) following a 16-hour flight to the orbital laboratory – the fastest Crew Dragon’s flight to the facility to date.
NASA astronauts Jill Lindgren, Bob Hines and Jessica Watkins, along with ESA’s Samantha Cristoforetti, traveled to the International Space Station aboard the Crew Dragon spacecraft to dock at the facility 260 miles above Earth on Wednesday, April 27.
NASA broadcast the independent docking, as well as the moment the new crew members entered the International Space Station through the delivery hatch and were waiting to be greeted by the current ISS crew of seven from the United States, Germany and Russia.
The Crew-4 mission at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida began in the early hours of Wednesday, with a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket propelling astronauts into orbit in a stunning night launch.
The mission was the fourth flight of the first stage of the boost, and the first use of a private Crew Dragon spacecraft, which the crew dubbed “Freedom”.
With 11 people aboard the space station now, the facility will feel more crowded than usual, however some space will soon open when the four Crew 3 astronauts return to Earth in the coming days following six months in space.
The Crew-4 mission is SpaceX’s fifth flight to the International Space Station featuring professional astronauts and comes nearly two years following the first flight that saw Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken ride the Crew Dragon to the station on a test mission.
Other manned flights using the SpaceX capsule include NASA’s first private astronaut mission to the International Space Station earlier this month, and last year’s orbital spaceflight in which four private citizens took part.
Space travel: Four people about the new age! Axiom space mission successful | Spacex | Science News | Malayalam Technology News
written by Alexandra Hartman Editor-in-Chief
American company Axiom has ushered in a new era in space travel. The AX-1, the first fully private spaceflight mission to the space station, was airlifted to its destination. Axiom Space-1 was launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 11.17am local time on Friday aboard the Falcon 9 rocket aboard the SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft. The spacecraft arrived at the space station on Saturday following a 21-hour journey.
None of the four crew members of the AX-1 are government astronauts. It is also the first fully-fledged private crude mission to be launched into space. Commander Michael Lopez Alegria, pilot Larry Connor, mission specialists Ethan Stieb and Mark Pathi set off for the space station.
The journey is for 10 days. It will spend eight days on the International Space Station. They will carry out various research missions in a short span of time. The AX-1’s Space X Dragon capsule was airlifted to the space station at 7.45am on Saturday in conjunction with the space station.
“We designed this mission following a year and a half or so of hard work,” said Derek Hasman, director of operations at Axiom Space. Passenger Connor is a real estate entrepreneur and pilot who has flown 16 different aircraft. Pathi is the CEO and Chairman of Marvik, a Canadian fixed investment company. However, Stib is a founding partner of the Vital Capital Impact Investment Fund. Stibe was also the fighter pilot of the Israeli Air Force (IAF), and will be the second Israeli person to reach space.
Commander Lopez-Alegria did not pay for this mission. And helps guide other crew members. Each of the other three is estimated to have spent regarding $ 55 million on the seat.
English Summary: SpaceX launches Ax-1, the 1st fully private astronaut mission to the space station
The first private mission to the International Space Station began | Who travels and what is their purpose
written by Alexandra Hartman Editor-in-Chief
Three businessmen and a former astronaut took off this Friday the first completely private mission to the International Space Station (ISS). They did it aboard a SpaceX rocket that left the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida.
Since 2000, several rookies have traveled to the ISS. Russia last year sent a film crew and a Japanese billionaire. But they all did it aboard Soyuz rockets and accompanied by cosmonauts.
The trip was organized by the Axiom Space company, in collaboration with SpaceX and NASA. “We are expanding the land frontiers of commerce into space,” said Bill Nelson, head of the US space agency, shortly before liftoff.
The former astronaut traveling with the businessmen is Michael López-Alegría. He is the commander of the mission, called Ax-1.
The three businessmen traveled millions of dollars to participate in the mission. One of them is the American Larry Connor, owner of a real estate firm who plays the role of the pilot on this trip.
Another of those traveling is Canadian Mark Pathy, head of an investment firm. And the third is former pilot Eytan Stibbe, co-founder of an investment fund.
Stibbe is the second Israeli astronaut in history. The first was Ilan Ramon, who died in 2003 in the explosion of the American space shuttle Columbia on his return from the ISS.
Scientific experiments
During the mission, some 25 experiences on aging, heart health or stem cells will be carried out. For this reason, the members of the Ax-1 reject the description of space tourists.
“The experiments I’m taking up there, coming from Canadian universities and research institutes, probably mightn’t have been done in space without this mission,” Pathy said.
“I think it’s important to differentiate special tourists from private astronauts,” Connor said. The first “spend 10 to 15 hours training (and) five to ten minutes in space (…) We spend between 750 and more than 1,000 hours training.”
Both he and Lopez-Alegria were trained in SpaceX’s Dragon capsule system. The training included, among other things, how to carry out daily life tasks in zero gravity and also how to react in the event of an emergency situation on the station.
Even so, the training of the members of the As-1S is less exhaustive than that of professional astronauts, who must be able to go out into space or repair equipment.
The private space station project
The Dragon capsule is due to dock with the ISS on Saturday. Upon arrival, the team will visit the station before getting down to business.
It is the sixth time that SpaceX has flown with humans (the fifth to the ISS). The first flight took place less than two years ago.
Axiom Space has concluded a four-mission agreement with SpaceX, and NASA has formally approved the start of a second, Ax-2.
For Axiom Space it will be the beginning of a stage towards an ambitious goal: the construction of its own space station. “It’s important for us to be able to repeat” these missions “on a smaller scale,” said Michael Suffredini, head of the company.
The first module of the private station is scheduled to be launched in September 2024. The structure will first be attached to the ISS before becoming autonomous when the orbiting laboratory is deactivated, which is expected around 2030.
NASA wants to generate income from these private missions and, in the long term, not have to manage the operation of a station but rather rent the services of private structures to concentrate on distant exploration.