“Crew Dragon”: Astronaut Matthias Maurer on the way to the ISS – start celebrated with applause

The German astronaut Matthias Maurer took off for the International Space Station (ISS) early this morning. The flight should take around 22 hours.

+++ 3:30 a.m.: The start was celebrated with applause in the SpaceX control center. Images from the space capsule transmitted by NASA showed the crew and a plush turtle floating in weightlessness.

+++ 03.15 am: After around 22 flight hours, Maurer and his NASA colleagues Thomas Marshburn, Raja Chari and Kayla Barron – the so-called “Crew-3” – are supposed to dock at the ISS on Friday (11/11/2011). Maurer is now the twelfth German in space, will be the fourth on the ISS – and is the first to fly in a “Crew Dragon” of the private space agency SpaceX owned by Elon Musk. It is the third astronaut transport to the ISS with a spacecraft from SpaceX, previously there had already been a successful manned test with a “Crew Dragon”.

+

Maurer is supposed to carry out numerous experiments on the ISS at a height of around 400 kilometers for about six months, and the astronaut of the European Space Agency (ESA) is also expected to complete an outdoor mission. The last time a German Esa astronaut was in space was Alexander Gerst in 2018.

+

+++ 03.05 a.m .: Liftoff! For the first time in three years, a German astronaut, Matthias Maurer, flew into space. The 51-year-old from Saarland started on Thursday on board a “Crew Dragon” together with three NASA colleagues from the Cape Canaveral spaceport in the US state of Florida to the International Space Station ISS.

The Falcon launcher took off on schedule at 03.03 a.m. German time for the International Space Station ISS, as shown by images from the US space agency NASA transmitted by the German Aerospace Center.

Update 11/11/2021, 2:15 a.m.: A few hours before his planned start to the International Space Station ISS, the German astronaut Matthias Maurer temporarily said goodbye to Earth via Twitter. “Our kite has waited long enough,” wrote Maurer on Tuesday (November 10th, 2021) – alluding to the many postponements of the start of the “Crew Dragon”, with which Maurer and his three NASA colleagues are supposed to fly to the ISS. “The next updates are coming from orbit!” Maurer thanked his French colleague Thomas Pesquet, who had returned from the ISS at the beginning of the week, for their support – and “for preparing my bed”.

The start, which has already been postponed several times, is planned for 3.03 a.m. CET on Thursday. The crew was “healthy and excited and ready for the start” and the weather was looking good, Nasa announced at a last press conference before the planned start. Only a few passing rain showers caused concern at the Cape Canaveral spaceport on the east coast of Florida.

Matthias Maurer is leaving for the ISS tonight – What you need to know about the mission

Frankfurt / Cape Canaveral – Very early on Thursday (11.11.2021) German time it should finally be that time. Then Matthias Maurer from the European Space Agency (Esa), Raja Chari, Tom Marshburn and Kayla Barron (all NASA) fly to the International Space Station.

They had to wait a long time for this day, originally their flight was planned for October 31st. The start of the “Crew Dragon” capsule had been postponed several times due to weather conditions, and once a “minor medical matter” caused a delay. According to NASA, a crew member was affected, but it was neither a medical emergency nor was there a connection to the coronavirus *.

German astronaut Matthias Maurer: Over 100 experiments planned on the ISS

The start was recently delayed due to the return of Crew-2, who were still on the space station, but whose space capsule was allowed to remain in space for a maximum of 210 days and was approaching this end date. At first it was unclear how long NASA and SpaceX would need between landing and take-off. The return of Crew-2 had priority, said NASA.

+

The so-called Crew-3 with the SpaceX capsule “Crew Dragon” is scheduled to take off for the ISS on Wednesday evening at the earliest. In Germany, at the time of the planned launch of the “Falcon 9” rocket, it is already 3:03 am.

Matthias Maurer flies to the ISS: will the weather play along before the rocket launch?

It is now again important whether the weather in Florida cooperates – a further shift is possible at any time. “The weather in November can be particularly challenging,” said NASA manager Steve Stich during one of the numerous postponements of the start date.

The Crew-3’s journey is set to begin at the historic launch site 39A in the Kennedy Space Center. The “Apollo” missions to the moon have already started there, and later the space shuttles. SpaceX has now rented the launch site, and the “Falcon 9” rockets from the private space company are now taking off from here. About 22 hours after take-off, Matthias Maurer and the team should dock with the ISS. Maurer calls his mission “Cosmic Kiss”.

But what is Maurer’s goal anyway? At an altitude of around 400 kilometers, the German astronaut will carry out over 100 experiments on the space station and will probably also complete an outdoor mission to put the European robotic arm into operation. As the German Aerospace Center reports, in addition to experiments in the field of biomedicine, new technologies and projects for artificial intelligence will also be involved. Similar tasks await the three NASA astronauts inside.

ISS flight with SpaceX: Matthias Maurer has to be patient for a long time

If the flight goes as planned, Matthias Maurer, born in Sankt Wendel in Saarland, will be the fourth German astronaut on the ISS and the twelfth in space. Alexander Gerst was last on board the ISS, for six months in 2014 and 2018. Before his trip, Maurer had to go through tough training. This included training in Russian and American spacesuits, but also medical care such as pulling teeth was on the program.

Because on the ISS, astronauts are left to their own devices. “If you lose contact with the station, then you are space junk,” said Maurer at a press conference. Also on board the space station there are regular exercises like running, cycling and strength training to prevent muscle breakdown in weightlessness. (lrg) * fr.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA.

Headline list image: © John Raoux / dpa