INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
The very first astronauts in more than 40 years from India, Poland and Hungary got to the International Space Station on Thursday,
transported there by SpaceX on a private flight.The team of 4 will invest two weeks at the orbiting laboratory, performing dozens of
They launched Wednesday from NASA’& rsquo; s Kennedy Space Center, AP reported.America’& rsquo; s most experienced astronaut, Peggy
Whitson, is the leader of the checking out crew
She works for Axiom Space, the Houston company that arranged the chartered flight.Besides Whitson, the team includes India’& rsquo; s
Shubhanshu Shukla, a pilot in the Indian Air Force; Hungary’& rsquo; s Tibor Kapu, a mechanical engineer; and Poland’& rsquo; s Slawosz
Uznanski-Wisniewski, a radiation specialist and one of the European Space Agency’& rsquo; s job astronauts on short-term flight duty.No
one has actually ever gone to the International Space Station from those nations before
The time anyone rocketed into orbit from those countries was in the late 1970s and 1980s, traveling with the Soviets.Speaking in both
English and their native languages, the brand-new arrivals shared hugs and handshakes with the space station’& rsquo; s 7 full-time
locals, celebrating with beverage pouches sipped through straws
Six nations were represented: 4 from the U.S., three from Russia and one each from Japan, India, Poland and Hungary.“& ldquo; We have many
countries at the exact same time on the spaceport station,” & rdquo; Kapu said, adding that 7 of the 11 astronauts are novice area fliers
“& ldquo; which also tells me just how much area is broadening.”& rdquo; Added Uznanski-Wisniewski: & ldquo; We will all attempt “to
do the best representing our nations
& rdquo; Shukla ranked the experience up until now as & ldquo; great & hellip; fantastic
& rdquo; The space station & rsquo; s commander, Japan’& rsquo; s Takuya Onishi, stated he enjoyed to finally see their smiling faces
after “& ldquo; awaiting you guys so long.” & rdquo; Whitson likewise made note of the prolonged hold-up and preflight quarantine.To
stay healthy, the four newbies went into quarantine on May 25, stuck in it as their launch kept getting postponed
The most recent postponement was for spaceport station leakage monitoring, NASA wanted to make sure everything was safe following repair
work to a long time leakage on the Russian side of the outpost.It’& rsquo; s the fourth Axiom-sponsored flight to the space station given
The company is among a number of that are establishing their own spaceport station due to launch in the coming years
NASA plans to abandon the International Space Station in 2030 after more than 3 years of operation, and is encouraging private endeavors to
replace it.The post International Space Station invites first astronauts from India, Poland and Hungary initially appeared on TINS
