Three astronauts from Russia and the US reach the ISS – DW – September 15, 2023

The Soyuz MS-24 spacecraft lifted off on time from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Friday. Two Russians Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Tschub and their American colleague Loral O’Hara were on board. The space capsule arrived at 9:54 PM Moscow time (8:54 PM CEST). International Space Station ISS Russian news agency Interfax reported the hack.

This was Kononenko’s fifth flight. O’Hara and Chubb, on the other hand, have their debut. Tschub and Kononenko will spend a year on the ISS, while O’Hara will remain there for six months. Four outgoing and four cargo flights are scheduled to arrive in the open air during the journey. Astronauts will also be involved in many scientific experiments.

A “childhood dream” has come true

“It’s a really special moment and it’s a great feeling to be a part of something that’s bigger than us and brings so many people together,” O’Hara said at a press conference Thursday. “The mood is good, the crew is ready to do whatever they’re assigned,” Tschub emphasized. A trip to space is his “Childhood dream” and he devoted “his whole life” to this goal.

The three astronauts will replace Russians Sergei Prokofiev and Dmitri Betlain and American citizen Frank Rubio. He flew to the ISS a year ago were. Their mission was extended in December after a leak in their spacecraft’s cooling system. According to Moscow, it was caused by a small meteorite.

Friday’s launch came less than a month after the crash Russian lunar probe Luna-25. This would have been the first lunar probe in history to land on the south pole of an Earth satellite.

Since the start of the Russian offensive in Ukraine in February 2022, space has been one of the few areas. Russia And this America Still working together. ISS has been operational since 1998.

kle/mak (afp, dpa, rtr, ape)