The German astronaut Matthias Maurer successfully launched into space early Thursday morning. The SpaceX rocket took off as planned with four astronauts on board at 3.03 a.m. German time.
the SpaceX-Dragon rocket with the German astronaut Matthias Maurer is on the way to the International Space Station. She picked up early in the morning as planned Cape Canaveral away. Shortly after reaching the prescribed altitude, the first stage of the rocket was dropped, which landed safely back on earth. “It was a perfect start,” said NASA manager Steve Stich afterwards.
German flies to the ISS: Matthias Maurer has been preparing for his trip for ten years – you can see how in the video. (Source: t-online)
The German astronaut Alexander Gerst gave his colleague Matthias Maurer after he left for the International Space Station ISS congratulated on Thursday on a “picture book start”. “From my point of view it was a great start,” said Gerst of the German press agency at the spaceport in Cape Canaveral. “I stayed outside until the very end and watched them until they were in orbit, until the engines were off – and that was nice.” Everything “went great”.
After around 22 hours of flight, Maurer and his NASA colleagues Thomas Marshburn, Raja Chari and Kayla Barron – the so-called “Crew 3” – are supposed to dock with the ISS on Friday. Maurer is now the twelfth German in space, will be the fourth on the ISS – and is the first to fly in a “Crew Dragon” of the private space agency SpaceX owned by Elon Musk. It is the third astronaut transport to the ISS with a spacecraft from SpaceX, previously there had already been a successful manned test with a “Crew Dragon”.
Cloth turtle hovers in the capsule
The crew around the German astronaut Matthias Maurer took a fabric turtle into space as a weightless mascot. When weightlessness set in on Thursday after take-off from the Cape Canaveral spaceport in the US state of Florida, the plush toy began to float, demonstrating its new condition. Maurer’s two Nasa colleagues, Raja Chari and Kayla Barron, belong to a selection of astronauts known affectionately as “turtles”.
A few hours before his planned start to the International Space Station ISS, the German astronaut Matthias Maurer had temporarily said goodbye to Earth via Twitter. “Our dragon has waited long enough,” wrote Maurer on Tuesday – alluding to the many postponements of the start of the “Crew Dragon” with the Maurer and his three NASA-Colleagues should fly to the ISS. “The next updates are coming from orbit!” Maurer thanked his French colleague Thomas Pesquet, who had returned from the ISS earlier this week, for his support – and “for preparing my bed”.
There was Asian food to say goodbye
The German astronaut Matthias Maurer waves at the camera as he is driven to the launch pad of the SpaceX rocket. (Source: John Raoux / dpa)
For the traditional farewell dinner there was an Asian menu on Tuesday, Maurer also announced on Twitter. Among other things, papaya salad and various curries were on the menu. According to Maurer, other traditions before the start include a card game between the senior astronaut of the crew and the head of the NASA astronaut office until the astronaut wins, and the astronauts’ signatures on a wall in the supply tower before entering the “Crew Dragon” capsule.
Maurer is supposed to carry out numerous experiments on the ISS at a height of around 400 kilometers for about six months, and the astronaut of the European Space Agency (ESA) is also expected to complete an outdoor mission. The last time a German Esa astronaut was in space was Alexander Gerst in 2018.