NASA astronaut Kate Rubins and Russian cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov aboard the Soyuz MS-17 spacecraft Photo: NASA / Twitter
The Soyuz MS-17 spacecraft launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan Wednesday morning with NASA astronaut Kate Rubins on board, bound for the International Space Station (ISS)
Why it matters: According to Axios’ Miriam Kramer, this is the Russian Soyuz spacecraft’s last contract flight for NASA, marking the transition to using US launch vendors like SpaceX instead
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Note: the launch precedes the 20th anniversary of the arrival of the first crew on the ISS on November 2, 2000
What They Say: It’s « amazing that we have a space station with a continuous human presence for 20 years, » Rubins said ahead of his second trip to the ISS – which fell on his birthday. – by CBS News
Eight nations this week signed the Artemis Accords, a set of principles for exploring the Moon and using its resources
Why this matters: While NASA’s Artemis program to land people on the moon by 2024 is largely led and developed by the space agency, NASA officials want other countries engage in lunar exploration via the Artemis agreements in order to make this exploration sustainable and international
The Supreme Court on Tuesday approved the Trump administration’s emergency request to prematurely end field census operations, as the once-a-decade tally litigation continues in the Court of Appeals of the 9th circuit
Why it matters: Civil rights groups fear that disruption of field operations could lead to undercount, which would affect the distribution of seats in Congress
NASA, International Space Station, astronaut, Kathleen Rubins, Roscosmos, SpaceX, Soyuz
News from around the world – CA – NASA astronaut Kate Rubins takes off on final US trip on russian rocket
SOURCE: https://www.w24news.com
