Florida, 26 Aug, 2023 (GNP): In an impressive display of international cooperation, NASA, in partnership with Elon Musk’s SpaceX, celebrated the triumphant launch of the Crew-7 mission. As per sources, the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft, aboard a Falcon 9 rocket, gracefully ascended from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 3:27 am (0727 GMT) on Saturday. Thousands gathered to witness this historic event.
The Crew-7 mission, under the command of American Jasmin Moghbeli, boasts a diverse crew representing four nations. Alongside Moghbeli are Andreas Mogensen from Denmark, Satoshi Furukawa from Japan, and Konstantin Borisov from Russia. As the Dragon spacecraft separated from the Falcon 9 rocket, cheers resounded in the mission control room, symbolizing the unity of purpose in this celestial endeavor.
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Moghbeli, reflecting on this momentous occasion, expressed the team’s shared mission, stating, “We may have four crew members on board from four different nations… but we’re a united team with a common mission.”
The launch had been briefly delayed allowing engineers to meticulously review a component of the Crew Dragon capsule’s environmental control and life support system, as stated by NASA.
Both Moghbeli and Borisov embark on their inaugural space mission, fulfilling lifelong dreams. Moghbeli, a Naval test pilot, expressed her excitement about gazing back at our planet and the thrill of floating in space.
Crew-7 signifies the seventh routine mission to the orbital platform for Elon Musk’s SpaceX since 2020. NASA’s collaboration with SpaceX is part of its mission to reduce dependence on Russian rockets for astronaut transport.
However, Boeing, NASA’s other contracted partner, has faced delays and technical challenges in its program.
Borisov becomes the third Russian to voyage on a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule, reinforcing space exploration’s role as a realm of collaboration between the United States and Russia, reported by the sources.
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The crew’s six-month stay on the International Space Station (ISS) will involve conducting scientific experiments, including microorganism research in the station’s life-support system vents and a study on physiological differences in sleep between Earth and space.
Borisov, reflecting on the mission ahead, said, “I’m looking forward to coping with all the tasks. This is a very interesting profession: you are preparing for something that you haven’t tried yet, and you really want to do it well.”
Crew-7 will join the seven individuals already aboard the ISS, maintaining its continuous international crew presence since 2001. Operations will continue until at least 2030, after which private companies plan to develop commercial space stations to replace it.
