A Japanese astronaut, two NASA astronauts, including the first Native American woman in space, and a Russian cosmonaut who was transported to the International Space Station by the US arrived at their new home on Thursday (US time) for a five-month stay.
One day after being launched into space, the SpaceX capsule arrived at the station. Just off the west coast of Africa, 420 kilometres above the Atlantic, the linkup took place.
A new deal established despite disagreement over the conflict in Ukraine led to the first Russian hitching a ride from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in 20 years.
Two other Russians already in the orbital outpost are joined by cosmonaut Anna Kikina. Before travelling back to Earth in the same SpaceX spacecraft in March, she will live and work on the Russian side until then.
Marine Colonel riding with Kikina
Nicole Mann, a member of the Wailacki tribe of the Round Valley Indian Tribes in California, Josh Cassada, a captain in the US Navy, and Koichi Wakata, the only other spaceflyer with more than one mission under his belt from Japan.
The space station occupants assured the newcomers that their bunks were prepared and that the outside light was on as the capsule closed in.
Mann, the commander of the capsule, retorted, “You guys are the greatest.
Three Americans and one Italian will replace Mann and her crew when they return in their own SpaceX capsule the following week after spending almost six months in space. 11 people will share the orbiting lab up until that point.
Frank Rubio, a NASA astronaut, arrived two weeks ago. He launched from Kazakhstan on a Soyuz rocket, beginning the cash-free personnel exchange between NASA and the Russian Space Agency. To ensure that there was always an American and a Russian at the station, they agreed to the idea last summer.
NASA had to spend tens of millions of dollars each time an astronaut launched on a Soyuz before Elon Musk’s SpaceX began launching astronauts two years ago.
Russian and Native American women are sent to the station by SpaceX.
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