Billionaire tycoon Elon Musk-led Space X blasted off from Florida on Wednesday and headed for the International Space Station.
The mission included a Russian cosmonaut, a Japanese and two American astronauts. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the company’s Dragon spacecraft is launched on NASA’s SpaceX Crew-5 mission to the International Space Station with NASA astronauts Nicole Mann and Josh Cassada, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Koichi Wakata, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Anna Kikina onboard on October 5 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, according to the press statement released by NASA.
NASA’s SpaceX Crew-5 is the fifth mission of the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket to the ISS as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program.
The crew members assigned to NASA’s SpaceX Crew-5 mission are in orbit now. The international crew will serve as the agency’s fifth commercial crew rotation mission with SpaceX aboard the orbital laboratory.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket propelled the Dragon Endurance spacecraft into orbit, carrying NASA astronauts Nicole Mann, as mission commander, and Josh Cassada, as pilot. A statement said, “Wakata and Kikina, also aboard the Dragon, will serve as mission specialists for their science expedition in microgravity aboard the space station”. Dragon will dock autonomously to the space-facing port of the station’s Harmony module around 4:57 p.m. Thursday, 6 October. NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agency’s website will provide live coverage of docking and hatch opening.