The exact launch date of the mission is yet to be determined and will be decided jointly by Axiom Space and NASA.Continue reading
“I unplugged the iron, turned off the washing machine, keys, wallet, phone, passport, Túró Rudi (Hungarian curd snack), Rubik’s cube,” wrote astronaut Tibor Kapu on his social media page. The scientist checked in from Budapest Airport with Gyula Cserényi, the reserve astronaut.
“Watch out Houston, here we come!”, Tibor Kapu concluded his post. The astronaut will be on the private spaceflight to the International Space Station with the Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4), pointed out Magyar Nemzet. The flight will be launched in autumn and Tibor Kapu is the first Hungarian astronaut to return to space after 44 years.
During the mission, the chosen Hungarian astronaut will spend a total of fourteen days on the space station conducting scientific research.
According to Spacejunkie, these two weeks could be extended due to the weather conditions in the landing area.
If the current line-up remains, the U.S. astronaut Peggy Whitson will be in command, while the remaining three seats will be occupied by Tibor Kapu of Hungary, Sławosz Uznański of Poland and an Indian astronaut (the latter two have not yet been officially confirmed by the parties). It is not yet known who will pilot Crew Dragon. Axiom has selected SpaceX to carry out the mission: the Falcon-9 carrying Crew Dragon will be launched from Kennedy Space Center‘s LC-39A launch pad, but no exact date has been announced yet.
Research astronaut Tibor Kapu and reserve research astronaut Gyula Cserényi are expected to receive their vehicle-specific training in the coming months, one of the last training phases before the flight.
This will involve learning all the systems of Crew Dragon inside and out, and preparing for all emergency scenarios to ensure that the astronauts are not caught unawares in space.
Hungary also launched its national astronaut program in the same year in mid-2021, in close cooperation with Axiom Space, Inc. The entire program draws USD 99 million from the state budget, including Hungarian R&D (research & development) activities and science experiments to be conducted in space. The program would create “space heritage” for the entire Hungarian space sector, which is essential for successful involvement in international value chains.
Via Magyar Nemzet; Featured image via Pexels