On 23rd April 2021, SpaceX through its Falcon 9 rocket sent 4-astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) on a NASA commercial crew mission, “Crew-2 mission” from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA.
i.The Mission includes the 1st representative from Europe, Thomas Pesquet of France.
ii.European Space Agency (ESA) has named the mission “Alpha” after the star system Alpha Centauri.
iii.The four-member crew is the first ever to be launched into orbit by a rocket booster that has been recycled from a previous spaceflight.
Crew Members-The crew is composed of NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur as well as Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Akihiko Hoshide and European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Thomas Pesquet.
Note- Previously, NASA used Russian Space vehicles to send astronauts to space, SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket eliminated NASA’s dependence.
SHIELDS Mission:
In April 2021, NASA launched the Spatial Heterodyne Interferometric Emission Line Dynamics Spectrometer (SHIELDS) mission from the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico.
- Objective- To study the Interstellar Space & the Magnetic bubble created by the Sun that forms a boundary to our solar system.
- NASA black Brant IX sounding rocket carried the payload to an apogee of 177 miles.
Recent Related News:
SpaceX creates New World Record by Launching 143 satellites in Single Launch by Falcon 9
About SpaceX:
Chief Executive Officer – Elon Musk
Headquarters – California, USA
About National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA):
Administrator – Steve Jurczyk
Chief Scientist – Jim Green
