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US space agency NASA will resume its official shuttle service between Earth and the International Space Station (ISS) this weekend.
On Monday night (1.27 am our time) another Falcon rocket with a Crew Dragon space shuttle leaves for the ISS. The departure was originally scheduled for the previous night, but had to be postponed due to bad weather.
On board: four astronauts. It wasn’t until the end of May that two NASA astronauts initiated the U.S. return to manned space travel after the end of the shuttle era with their historic test flight.
BILD broadcasts the start of the evening in a live stream and answers the most important questions about the mission.
These are the four astronauts who check in for the flight on Sunday eveningPhoto: Joel Kowsky / AP Photo / dpa
Who is on board this time?
This time three US astronauts and a Japanese fly into space. The team: Michael Hopkins (51), Victor Glover (44) and Shannon Walker (55) in addition to the Japanese Soichi Noguchi (55).
The four form a special team! Michael Hopkins is an old space fox, he has been in space for 166 days. Glover is a former US Navy fighter pilot. For him it is the first space flight. Shannon Walker is the first woman to fly in the new Space X space capsule. And Japanese Noguchi has the longest experience with 177 days. Unfortunately, there was no room for a European on this flight.
Alexander Gerst (44) was the last German in space. He’s currently evaluating his experiments up therePhoto: dpa
How long will the team remain standing?
Six months in total! The return is scheduled for June. During this time, astronauts are expected to conduct or continue a series of scientific experiments. A total of seven people are then on the outpost in space. Two Russians and one American have been up there since mid-October.
The landing of the space shuttle Atlantis in summer 2011 marked the end of the shuttle eraPhoto: AP
What makes the current mission so special?
After the dramatic end of the shuttle era in July 2011, the United States wants to regain independence from Russian Soyus capsules and, of course, emphasize their important role in space travel. Furthermore, the mission shows the dominance of private companies, because both the Falcon rocket and the Dragon capsule were developed by the company of visionary Elon Musk, albeit with the help of billions from NASA.
Matthias Maurer (50) will fly next autumn. In the ESAS astronaut center in Cologne, who prepared for their missionPhoto: Christian Knieps
When will a German fly back into space?
The first German after Alexander Gerst is expected to be Matthias Maurer (50) in autumn 2021. Whether the Saarlander flies a Dragon-Kpasel, or perhaps even the Starliner developed by aviation giant Boeing, it is still open. Maurer is currently preparing for his tenure in Houston, Texas.
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