INTRODUCTION
- NASA-third SpaceX’s mission will transport four astronauts to the International Space Station aboard a Crew Dragon spacecraft launched by a Falcon 9 rocket, including three NASA astronauts Raja Chari, Tom Marshburn, and Kayla Barron, and one ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer, according to a statement from the US space agency.
- The mission will launch on October 30, 2021, from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida’s Launch Complex 39A. SpaceX’s Crew-3 mission will be the company’s fifth crewed trip to space and its fourth to the International Space Station.
- The Indian-American astronaut will command the Crew Dragon spacecraft and the Crew-3 mission, as well as act as the station’s Expedition 66 flight engineer.
THE CREW-3 MISSION –
- The Crew-3 mission follows the Inspiration4 space mission, which launched on September 15 on a SpaceX Crew Dragon spaceship with an all-civilian crew.
- As part of the Commercial Crew Program, the Crew-3 mission will transport four astronauts on a science mission to the microgravity laboratory. After a 22-hour voyage, it is expected to arrive at the space station. In late April 2022, the Crew-3 members will return to Earth.
- The mission will continue to put exploratory risks to the test, pushing the boundaries of technology, and forging vital international partnerships. Experiments that straddle the line between science and application will be part of the mission.
- Human research, rodent research, and other studies comparable to those currently conducted on the station will be among the experiments conducted.
- The astronauts will be aboard the ISS for six months, and they will spend the most of their time working.
RAJA CHARI –
- Raja Chari was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the state’s biggest city.
- In the United States Air Force, he is a colonel. He is an American test pilot with over 2,500 hours of flight time.
- He holds degrees from the United States Air Force Academy, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and the United States Naval Test Pilot School.
- In 2017, he was named a NASA astronaut, and this would be his first mission into space.
- In December 2020, he was chosen to be a member of the Artemis Team. It’s a team of astronauts that will help prepare the path for future lunar missions, such as sending the first woman and man to walk on the Moon’s surface in 2024.
- Since Gerald Carr, who led the Skylab 4 mission in 1973, he has become the first NASA rookie to command a spaceflight.
