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Four astronauts blasted off in SpaceX’s Falcon rocket on Sunday as they headed to the International Space Station, the place they’ll oversee the arrivals of two new rocketships throughout their six-month stint.
The rocket launched from Kennedy Space Center in Florida with NASA’s Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt and Jeanette Epps and Russia’s Alexander Grebenkin on board.
The astronauts are anticipated to succeed in the orbiting lab on Tuesday and can exchange a crew from the U.S., Denmark, Japan and Russia, who’ve been there since August.
The launch got here after three days of delays as a result of excessive winds. SpaceX Launch Control described it as “fashionably late.”
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A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon capsule with a crew of 4 on a mission to the International Space Station lifts off from pad 39A on the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on March 3. (AP)
Another delay virtually occurred once more Sunday evening after a small crack within the seal of the SpaceX capsule’s hatch led to a number of last-minute evaluations, nevertheless it was finally deemed secure for the entire mission.
The new crew’s six-month stay contains the arrival of two rocketships ordered by NASA. Boeing’s new Starliner capsule with check pilots is predicted in late April and Sierra Space’s Dream Chaser, a mini-shuttle, ought to arrive a month or two later.
Astronaut Epps was initially assigned to fly Boeing’s Starliner, which sustained issues and stalled. NASA later moved her to SpaceX.
She is an engineer, having labored for Ford Motor Company and the CIA earlier than turning into an astronaut in 2009. Epps was initially scheduled to launch to the house station on a Russian rocket in 2018 however was changed for causes that have been by no means publicly disclosed.
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The SpaceX crew: Alexander Grebenkin, pilot Michael Barratt, commander Matthew Dominick and mission specialist Jeanette Epps collect for a photograph after arriving on the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. (AP)
Dominick, a Navy pilot, and Grebenkin, a former Russian navy officer, are additionally new to house, whereas Barratt, a 64-year-old physician on his third mission, is the oldest full-time astronaut to fly in house.
“It’s kind of like a roller coaster ride with a bunch of really excited teenagers,” Barratt mentioned after reaching orbit.
Speaking about his age earlier than the flight, Barratt mentioned, “As long as we stay healthy and fit and engaged, we’re good to fly.”
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Flight controllers are monitoring a rising cabin leak on Russia’s facet of the house station. The leak has doubled in dimension prior to now few weeks and the world has been sealed off, in response to NASA program supervisor Joel Montalbano, who emphasised that there is no such thing as a affect on station operations or crew security.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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