The July crew-exchange deal paved the way for resuming routine joint U.S.-Russian flights to the ISS that had begun during the space shuttle era and continued after shuttles ceased flying in 2011. Krikalev cited bilateral teamwork in space dating back to the Apollo-Soyuz era in 1975, saying, "We started our cooperation many years ago, over 40 years ago, and will continue our cooperation as long as I can imagine." NASA-Roscosmos relations have been tested since Russia invaded Ukraine in February and the United States imposed sweeping sanctions against Moscow.Īt a post-launch NASA-SpaceX briefing on Wednesday, Sergei Krikalev, head of human spaceflight for Roscosmos, said he agency chief Yuri Borisov were seeking to ease tensions after Borisov's predecessor, Dmitry Rogozin, raised questions about the future of the ISS partnership. It was born in part to improve relations between Washington and Moscow following the Soviet Union's collapse and the end of Cold War rivalries that spurred the original American-Soviet space race. ISS, the length of a football field, has been continuously occupied since 2000, operated by a U.S.-Russian-led consortium that includes Canada, Japan and 11 European countries. The new arrivals are set to conduct more than 200 experiments, many focused on medical research ranging from 3-D "bio-printing" of human tissue to a study of bacteria cultured in microgravity. The team will be welcomed by seven existing ISS occupants - the Crew-4 team consisting of three Americans and an Italian astronaut - as well as two Russians and the NASA astronaut who flew with them to orbit on a Soyuz flight. Rounding out the crew from Japan's space agency JAXA was Koichi Wakata, 59, a robotics expert making his fifth voyage to space. Navy aviator and test pilot with a doctorate in high-energy particle physics. The designated pilot was Mann's fellow spaceflight rookie Josh Cassada, 49, a U.S. Marine Corps colonel and combat fighter pilot, is also among the first group of 18 astronauts selected for NASA's upcoming Artemis missions aimed at returning humans to the moon later this decade. Moments after reaching orbit, as mission control wished the crew "Godspeed," Mann radioed back, "Awesome. The team was led by Nicole Aunapu Mann, 45, who became the first Native American woman sent to orbit by NASA and the first woman to take the commander's seat of a SpaceX Crew Dragon.
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