NASA Launches Crew-8 Mission To International Space Station

IN SPACE - MAY 29: In this handout provided by National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), back dropped by planet Earth the International Space Station (ISS) is seen from NASA space shuttle Endeavour after the station and shuttle began their post-undocking relative separation May 29, 2011 in space. After 20 years, 25 missions and more than 115 million miles in space, NASA space shuttle Endeavour is on the last leg of its final flight to the International Space Station before being retired and donated to the California Science Center in Los Angeles. Capt. Mark E. Kelly, U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords' (D-AZ) husband, has lead mission STS-134 as it delivered the Express Logistics Carrier-3 (ELC-3) and the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS-2) to the International Space Station. (Photo by NASA via Getty Images) — In this handout provided by National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), back dropped by planet Earth the International Space Station (ISS) is seen from NASA space shuttle Endeavour after the station and shuttle began their post-undocking relative separation May 29, 2011 in space. (Photo by NASA via Getty Images)

OAN’s Cameron Breckenridge
12:26 PM – Monday, March 4, 2024

Four astronauts are on their way to the International Space Station.

On Sunday evening, the international squad reached orbit following a successful launch from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

We have liftoff! Three first-time fliers and a veteran are en route to the @Space_Station

Learn more about #Crew8 and their mission: https://t.co/CWKffPmm6M pic.twitter.com/GYBisbZmvv
— NASA (@NASA) March 4, 2024

Aboard the Dragon Spacecraft, the team known as Crew-8 consisted of three NASA astronauts and one Russian cosmonaut.

Their six-month journey on the International Space Station is the eighth leg in NASA’s mission to build efficient spacecrafts and rockets for missions beyond the earth’s atmosphere.

In the meantime, NASA says Crew-7 will touch down as early as March 11^th.

“So right now, Dragon’s doing well. We will. We’re excited to have Endeavor on orbit with its fifth flight, and then, you know, we’re going to set up for crew seven return,” Steve Stitch, the manager of the NSA crew commercial program said. “Once we get docked, we’ll work on the crew seven return. The earliest return would be, probably a week from today, around March 11^th or so.”

Crew-8’s mission consists of over 200 science experiments, including studying the effects of micro-gravity and UV radiation on plants.

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