A four-member multinational crew is preparing for the upcoming launch of NASA's mission to the International Space Station, scheduled for Thursday, after arriving at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Astronauts Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency specialist Kimiya Yui and Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov will launch from Kennedy Space Center's pad 39A to the ISS aboard the SpaceX Crew Dragon Endeavour spacecraft.
Cardman serves as the mission commander. The crew landed at Space Florida's launch pad at 1:12 a.m. ET after taking off from Houston Saturday morning.
“We are incredibly happy to be here at Kennedy Space Center,” Cardman said after the team landed.
“This is the first moment where it all really starts to feel real,” she added. “This is the beginning of a week where it's going to feel more and more tangible as we get closer to launch.”
Mission pilot Fink said the flight gives him another opportunity to be aboard the Endeavour spacecraft.
“One of the last landings I did at [the Florida spaceport] was on the shuttle Endeavour,” Fincke told reporters.
“Now we have another adventure ahead of us – “The Dragon's Beginning,” he added.
The name Endeavour was given in honor of HMS Endeavour, on which British Captain James Cook explored and charted the South Pacific Ocean from 1768 to 1771.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch Endeavour into low Earth orbit, making the Crew Dragon spacecraft SpaceX has flown most frequently.
Thursday's launch is scheduled for 12:09 p.m. ET and will allow Endeavour to dock with the ISS on August 2 if all goes according to plan.
Four crew members will join Expedition 73, which is already on the ISS.
The Expedition 74 crew is expected to replace the Expedition 73 crew while the Expedition 11 crew remains on board the ISS.
Sourse: www.upi.com
