5, 4, 3,2,1…. Lift off! SpaceX is at it again with yet, another successful start to an important mission to further space exploration. On Wednesday, SpaceX launched their Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base into orbit. The mission of the Falcon 9 rocket is to establish 52 Starlink satellites into orbit. The importance of the Starlink satellites will provide internet service to rural communities that otherwise would go without service with previous satellite reach.
The crew-5 mission consist of a pretty diverse group of Koichi Wakata from Japan, American Josh Cassada, Native American woman Nicole Mann, and Russian cosmonaut Anna Kikina. The crew arrived at Kennedy Space Center over the weekend in preparation for the launch on Monday; however, the mission was postponed to conduct additional pre-launch checks. Three issues were discovered by SpaceX and NASA engineers which caused the delay.
The crew of astronauts will spend a little over six months conducting science experiments and maintaining ISS operations. The significance of the mission can be summarized as groundbreaking for the advances in satellite technology; however, the record setting launch signifies the first indigenous woman to be put into space by NASA. In addition, it’s the first time a Russian has flown on a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft. The mission marks only the fifth crew rotation mission to the International Space Station since 2020. The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft has the capability of carrying 7 passengers to and from Earth.
