WASHINGTON (ALETIHAD)
An international crew of four astronauts launched toward the International Space Station from Florida on Friday aboard a SpaceX rocket, embarking on a routine NASA mission that could be the first of many to last a couple months longer than usual.
The four-person crew includes two NASA astronauts - Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, Russian cosmonaut Oleg Platonov, and Japanese astronaut Kimiya Yui, who boarded SpaceX's Dragon capsule sitting atop its Falcon 9 rocket at NASA's Kennedy Space Center and beat gloomy weather to blast off at 11:43am ET (1543 GMT). They will arrive at the ISS at around 3am (0700 GMT) on Saturday after a roughly 16-hour flight.
While normal crew rotation missions last roughly six months, the Crew-11 crew may be the first to settle into a new routine time of eight months, intended to better align US mission schedules with Russia's missions, Nasa said.
Over the next few months, Nasa officials will monitor the health of SpaceX's Dragon capsule, which remains docked to the ISS, before committing the mission to a full eight months.
During their mission, Crew-11 will conduct scientific research to prepare for human exploration beyond low Earth orbit and benefit humanity on Earth. Participating crew members will simulate lunar landings, test strategies to safeguard vision, and advance other human spaceflight studies led by NASA’s Human Research Programme.
The crew also will study plant cell division and microgravity’s effects on bacteria-killing viruses, as well as perform experiments to produce a higher volume of human stem cells and generate on-demand nutrients.
The mission is part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Programme, which provides reliable access to space, maximising the use of the station for research and development and supporting future missions beyond low Earth orbit by partnering with private companies to transport astronauts to and from the space station.