by A US commercial mission with crew from India, Poland and Hungary shot to the international space station on Wednesday and brought astronauts from these countries to space for the first time in decades.
The Axiom Mission 4 or AX-4, which was launched at 2:31 a.m. (0631 GMT) from the Kennedy Space Center of NASA in Florida.
The vehicle is to dock with the Orbital laboratory on Thursday with the Orbital laboratory at around 1100 GMT and stay there for up to 14 days.
Pilot Shubhanshu Shucla from India were on board the spacecraft; Mission specialist Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski from Poland and Tibor Kapu from Hungary; And Commandant Peggy Whitson from the United States, a former NASA Astronaut who is now working for the Axiom Space company, which, among other things, organizes private spatial flight aircraft.
The last time India, Poland or Hungary sent people into space, their current astronauts had not yet been born – and at that time they were called cosmonauts because they all flew to Soviet missions before the fall of the iron curtain.
“I not only wear instruments and equipment with myself, but also the hopes and dreams of one billion hearts,” said Shucla, 39, at a recent press conference.
He became the first Indian in space since Rakesh Sharma, a pilot of the Air Force who, in 1984, traveled to the Salyut 7-World Center station as part of an initiative led by Soviet Union to support the Allied countries.
The Indian Space Agency Isro sees this flight as an important springboard for its own Maiden crew mission, which is planned for 2027 as part of the Gaganyaan program, which means “Sky Craft” in Hindi.
The Indian Minister of Science and Technology, Jitendra Singh, congratulated Shucla shortly after lifting.
“Indeed, a proud moment for India!” He wrote about X.
While Shuckla on board the ISS-ISS is talking to a top-class Indian VIP–in an Indian media widespread in Indian media as Prime Minister Narendra Modi speculates, in a soft power moment that aims to delete the national pride.
All three countries have the invoice for their astronauts. According to Spacenews.com, Hungary announced in 2022 to pay $ 100 million for his seat. India and Poland have not announced how much they spend.
– Space Spat – –
The AX 4 start has been delayed after several editions delayed the mission, which is originally planned for early June.
This is also followed by an explosive online spit between the US President Donald Trump and the head of SpaceX, Elon Musk, the richest person in the world and until recently Trump’s ally and consultant.
Trump threatened to threaten the federal contracts of Yank SpaceX -worth ten billion dollars -which Muschus asked to threaten an early retirement of Dragon, the only US spaceship that can currently transmit astronauts to the ISS.
Musk went back the threat a few hours later and tried to distance himself in the following days and to write about X that he had gone “too far”.
Every break between SpaceX and the US government would be massively annoying in view of NASA and the trust of the Pentagon in Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy to send crew, freight, satellites and probes.
However, analysts believe that both sides are too involved in risking a serious break.
The AX 4 flight marks the debut of the fifth and final crew dragon vehicle, which is named as soon as it reaches orbit and is connected in the active fleet, resilience, endurance and freedom.
In the end, SpaceX plans to carry out its current vehicles in the 2030s in favor of the spaceship, its huge rocket of the next generation, which is currently under development.
AX-4 carries out around 60 experiments, including studies on microalgae, sprout salad seeds and how well microscopic creatures, which are called Tarderrade, survive in space.
FZ-I/DW/DISH/MTP
