NASA has launched the 10th crew rotation mission under its commercial crew partnership with SpaceX, marking a significant milestone in the agency’s efforts to advance American leadership in space and drive growth in the national space economy.
The Falcon 9 rocket propelled the Dragon spacecraft into orbit on Friday evening, carrying NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, JAXA astronaut Takuya Onishi, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov. The crew will join Expedition 72/73 for a long-duration stay aboard the International Space Station.
The mission is expected to conduct material flammability tests, engage with students worldwide via the ISS Ham Radio program, and use the program’s existing hardware to test a backup lunar navigation solution. The astronauts will also serve as test subjects for an integrated study on physiological and psychological changes to the human body during deep space missions.
NASA Acting Administrator Janet Petro congratulated the teams on the successful launch, highlighting the importance of these missions in laying the foundation for future exploration, including long-duration missions to the Moon under NASA’s Artemis campaign. The agency will broadcast welcome remarks from Crew-10 and farewell remarks from its previous crew, beginning at 1:40 a.m. local time.
The crew of 11 will spend several months on board the space station before returning to Earth no earlier than March 19. The mission is expected to provide valuable insights into future spacecraft and facility designs, as well as contributing to innovative science research and technology development.
Crew-10 marks another milestone in NASA’s efforts to push the boundaries of human exploration and scientific discovery. With this mission, the agency continues to maximize the use of the orbiting laboratory, where people have lived and worked continuously for over 24 years.
Source: https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasas-spacex-crew-10-launches-to-international-space-station