SpaceX sends Astronauts from Turkey, Sweden and Italy to the international space station on latest chartered flight

The Falcon rocket blasted off from NASA’s Kennedy Area Heart in late afternoon, carrying the three males, all with army pilot expertise and representing their homelands. Their escort on the journey: A retired NASA astronaut who now works for the corporate that organized the personal flight.

Their capsule ought to attain the house station on Saturday. They’ll spend two weeks performing experiments, chatting up schoolchildren and soaking within the views of Earth, earlier than returning dwelling.

It’s costing every of the three nations $55 million or extra. That’s the tough per-person value for the journey, the third such journey organized by the Houston firm Axiom Area with NASA and SpaceX. Russia has been welcoming paid guests to the house station for greater than 20 years; NASA didn’t till two years in the past.

Turkey’s Alper Gezeravci, a former fighter pilot and captain for Turkish Airways, is the primary individual from his nation to rocket to house. He famous Turkey simply celebrated its a centesimal anniversary, and, till now, the nation’s view of the sky has been restricted to “that we might see with our naked eyes.”

“Now this mission is opening that curtain all the best way,” he instructed reporters earlier than the flight. “That is the start of our subsequent centennial.”

Additionally flying: Sweden’s Marcus Wandt, a former fighter pilot and take a look at pilot for Swedish Aeroplane Corp. who was chosen in 2022 as a reserve astronaut by the European Area Company, and Italian Air Drive Col. Walter Villadei, who flew to the sting of house final summer season with Virgin Galactic.

Among the many symbolic objects they’re taking on: a Nobel Prize medal from Sweden, fusilli pasta from Italy and tokens of Turkey’s nomadic tradition.

With them is Michael Lopez-Alegria, who launched 4 occasions as a NASA astronaut earlier than becoming a member of Axiom Area and escorting its first chartered flight. He’s the one repeat passenger on a SpaceX Dragon, the capsule that’s been used to ferry astronauts to the house station for NASA since 2020.

“Welcome to the Dragon frequent flyer membership,” radioed SpaceX Launch Management.