Status: 09/21/2022 11:27 am
Even in times of political tension, we can achieve something together, says US astronaut Rubio before launching to the International Space Station. He did not talk to his two Russian crew colleagues about the war in Ukraine beforehand.
Despite the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine, an American and two Russians are flying together to the International Space Station (ISS) today. From the Russian cosmodrome Baikonur in the Republic of Kazakhstan, the three are scheduled to take off in the afternoon aboard a Soyuz rocket. This was announced by the Russian space agency Roskosmos.
It is the first joint flight since the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine began on February 24. In October, the Russian cosmonaut Anna Kikina is also scheduled to fly to the ISS from the USA. Both flights should give hope that the cooperation on the ISS will continue. Russia had recently announced that it wanted to exit the project after 2024. So far no exact date is known.
supplies on board
In addition to the crew, there are also 120 kilograms of supplies for the ISS on board the Soyuz capsule – for example hygiene and medical articles, scientific equipment and the astronauts’ personal belongings. It is the second flight to the ISS for Russian cosmonaut Sergei Prokopyev, and the first for his colleague Dmitri Petelin and US astronaut Frank Rubio.
“The program is pretty full – in addition to fast docking, five exits into space are planned,” said Prokopyev before the start of the 68th ISS mission. 48 experiments are planned – including with a 3D printer in zero gravity. Different figures are to be printed out of different materials.
The three don’t talk about the war
“It’s an honor for me to follow in the footsteps of previous astronauts,” said NASA astronaut Rubio. Space travel is an opportunity to achieve something together, even in times of political tension.
Apparently, the crew did not talk about the war in advance. All three made it clear that they would miss their families most of all during the six months on the ISS.
The commander of the 67th expedition, Oleg Artemyev, cosmonauts Denis Matveyev and Sergey Korsakov, NASA astronauts Bob Hines, Kjell Lindgren, Jessica Watkins and the Italian Samantha Cristoforetti from the European Space Agency ESA are already on the ISS. They orbit about 400 kilometers above the earth.