A US commercial spacecraft carrying astronauts from India, Poland and Hungary successfully docked with the International Space Station (ISS) on the morning of June 26, marking the first time in decades that these countries have sent astronauts to the ISS.
The Crew Dragon spacecraft belongs to the fourth commercial mission called Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4) organized by Axiom Space (USA).
The spacecraft was launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA on the morning of June 25 (local time) using SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket. This spacecraft is the fifth and final Dragon spacecraft in SpaceX's fleet.
The crew includes commander Peggy Whitson - a former NASA astronaut with a record of more than 675 days in space, Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla, mission specialists Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski of Poland and Tibor Kapu of Hungary.
The spacecraft made a "soft" connection with the ISS at 6:31 a.m. on June 26, US East Coast time (ie 5:31 p.m. the same day, Vietnam time).
After completing the docking process, the astronauts will stay on the ISS for about 14 days to conduct about 60 scientific experiments, including research on microalgae, vegetable seed growth and the physiological effects of living in a microgravity environment.
This is the first time India, Poland and Hungary have sent astronauts to the ISS in decades.
For India alone, astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla is the first Indian to fly into space since Rakesh Sharma's mission in 1984.
The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) considers this flight an important preparation step for the country's first independent manned flight program called Gaganyaan, scheduled to be launched in 2027.
This is also the first time the Crew Dragon spacecraft has carried out a mission following recent political disputes between SpaceX and the US government regarding government contracts.
However, the mission was carried out safely after additional technical checks, including addressing previously encountered technical problems.
NASA affirms to continue supporting commercial flights to expand space access opportunities for more countries in the future.
This mission is the next step in Axiom Space's efforts to commercialize space, while also setting the stage for participating countries to prepare for future manned space programs./.
Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/tau-vu-tru-dua-phi-hanh-gia-tu-an-do-ba-lan-hungary-len-iss-post1046651.vnp
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