Launch of the Falcon 9 rocket Image: AFP
After several postponements, three US astronauts and a Russian cosmonaut have launched a six-month mission on the International Space Station (ISS). A Falcon 9 rocket from the US space company SpaceX took off from Florida.
After several postponements, three US astronauts and a Russian cosmonaut have launched a six-month mission on the International Space Station (ISS). A Falcon 9 rocket from the private US space company SpaceX took off from the Kennedy Space Center in the state of Florida late on Sunday evening (local time) at the scheduled time.
A launch attempt planned for the previous day was canceled due to strong winds. It was not the first postponement of the start: the flight was originally planned for February 22nd.
The US astronauts Matthew Dominick, Jeanette Epps and Michael Barratt as well as the Russian Alexander Grebenkin are to be taken to the ISS on board a space capsule called Endeavor. Space is one of the few areas in which the US and Russia have continued to work together since the start of the Ukraine war around two years ago.
There are currently seven astronauts on board the ISS. In a few days, four astronauts from the current crew from the USA, Denmark, Japan and Russia will return to Earth. The new crew wants to carry out experiments with stem cells on the International Space Station and grow so-called organoids. Such mini-organs can be used to research organ diseases, among other things.
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