Elon Musk’s SpaceX sends 4th NASA crew to space

Freedom’s cruise ship SpaceX took off with the crew from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, USA – Photo: REUTERS

According to Reuters news agency, these astronauts are on their way to the International Space Station (ISS), including a doctor and a geologist specializing in landslides on Mars.

Assigned to command the crew this time is Dr. Kjell Lindgren, 49 years old. This is his second time on the ISS. He first flew into space in 2015 and stayed in orbit for 141 days.

During that expedition, Mr. Lindgren also conducted two spacewalks and participated in more than 100 science projects. His “Veggie” vegetable experiment marked the first time a US crew member ate a vegetable grown in orbit.

The Falcon 9 rocket launched Freedom, the 4th Crew Dragon spacecraft, taking off with the crew from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, USA, at 2:52 p.m. on April 27 (Vietnam time). .

As planned, 3 American astronauts and an Italian astronaut of the European Space Agency (ESA) will arrive at the ISS after a 17-hour flight and dock at about 7:15 on April 28. The team will begin a six-month science mission at a distance of 420 kilometers from Earth.

Commentators on the launch said that within 10 minutes of takeoff, the upper part of the rocket had put Crew Dragon into orbit.

Meanwhile, the Falcon 9’s reusable lower section detached, flew back to Earth on its own and landed safely on a landing pad in the Atlantic Ocean.

This is the fourth official ISS crew that NASA has put into orbit using a SpaceX vehicle.

In total, SpaceX has launched six crewed spacecraft in the past two years.