After numerous launch delays and postponements, NASA, SpaceX and Axiom Space successfully launched the Axiom-4 mission Wednesday morning, sending four astronauts on the fourth private commercial mission to the International Space Station.
In addition, 13 hours later, SpaceX launched another batch of Starlink satellites from Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.
The first launch of the Falcon 9 rocket took place Wednesday at 2:31 a.m. ET from Pad 39 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. As the countdown ended and the spacecraft began its journey away from Earth, cheers were heard live from mission control.
“Ax-4 launch!” SpaceX celebrated on the X platform, posting a 30-second video of the launch.
After confirming that they had reached their target orbit, which happened about 10 minutes after launch, mission commander Peggy Whitson, an American, said they were heading to the ISS.
“We’ve made an incredible climb, and now we’re set on course for the International Space Station aboard our newest member of the Dragon family, a spacecraft named Grace,” Whitson said.
“Grace is more than just a name, it is a symbol of the elegance with which we move through space against the backdrop of Earth… Grace reminds us that spaceflight is not just an engineering achievement, but an act of goodwill that benefits every person on our planet.”
The first stage of the launch vehicle, on its second flight, also returned to Earth and landed successfully at Cape Canaveral Landing Zone 1 approximately eight minutes after liftoff.
Grace and its four-person crew — Whitson, pilot Shubhanshu Shukla of India, and mission specialists Slawosz Uzsansky-Wisniewski of Poland and Tibor Kapu of Hungary — are expected to dock with the ISS at 7 a.m. ET Thursday.
“With our culturally diverse team, we not only advance scientific knowledge, but also promote international collaboration,” Whitson said, according to the Axiom Space website.
“Here's a beautiful shot of our launch vehicle patiently waiting to take us into space,” Whitson added in her post Tuesday morning.
The Axiom-4 mission has been repeatedly delayed. The first launch attempt earlier this month was called off due to high winds, and the second after SpaceX discovered a liquid oxygen leak in the Falcon 9 rocket.
The launch was canceled again Sunday to ensure the ISS was ready to receive additional crew members, according to NASA. The Zvezda service module of the station's orbital laboratory had recently been repaired, and NASA was analyzing data to confirm that all systems were ready to receive additional people.
Houston-based Axiom Space is building the first commercial space station, scheduled to launch by 2030.
The Axiom-4 mission is designed to last 14 days. The crew will conduct 60 science experiments and demonstrations “focused on human exploration, Earth observation, and life and material sciences,” according to SpaceX.
“Next: Falcon 9 to launch Axiom Space's Ax-4 mission to the Space Station.”
Starlink
SpaceX launched 27 satellites at 3:54 p.m. ET.
About 8 minutes later, the Falcon 9 rocket's first stage returned to Earth and landed on the unmanned ship Just Read The Instructions in the Atlantic Ocean.
This was the 20th launch of the B1080 rocket, which has carried the European Space Agency's Axiom 2, Axiom 3, Euclid and 13 Starlink missions.
According to Spaceflightnow, this was the 126th landing of the ship and the 468th landing of the booster.
There are already about 8,000 satellites in low Earth orbit.
SpaceX had planned to launch at 1:15 p.m. ET, but then pushed it back to 1:22 p.m., and then there were three more delays.
Sourse: www.upi.com
