WA astronaut is 601st person in space. She’s headed to international station
NASA astronaut Kayla Barron of Richland is speeding through space toward the International Space Station.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket topped with the Crew Dragon Endurance blasted off Wednesday just after 6 p.m. PST.
Some nine minutes later the spacecraft separated from the Falcon 9 rocket in low Earth orbit.
“Enjoy your holidays among the stars. We will be waving as you fly by,” came the message from the launch crew.
“It was a great ride, better than we imagined,” NASA mission commander Raja Chari replied from the Crew Dragon Endurance.
The launch had been delayed multiple times since it was originally scheduled early Halloween morning, first by weather, then by a minor medical issue in a crew member and then to bring four of the astronauts ending their mission back to Earth first.
But when the launch finally happened it appeared to go off flawlessly.
Barron and the three other astronauts of the SpaceX Crew-3 are expected to arrive at the International Space Station at at 4:10 p.m. PST Thursday, with the hatch opening at 5:45 p.m. PST.
There the crew will meet the American and two Russian astronauts already aboard the space station.
Barron, a graduate of Richland High, is a mission specialist on the flight.
The SpaceX Crew-3 also includes NASA mission commander Chari, NASA pilot Tom Marshburn and mission specialist Matthias Maurer of Germany with the European Space Agency.
Although they left Earth and will arrive at the space station together, each astronaut is given a number based on how many astronauts have flown before them. Maurer was assigned 600, for the 600th person to reach space, and Barron was given 601.
They will spend six months at the space station doing research.
Barron said she was looking forward to seeing the view of Earth from space and going on a space walk.
NASA plans continual coverage at nasa.gov/live of the flight through Thursday evening when a welcoming ceremony is planned for 6:20 p.m. PST at the space station.
This story was originally published November 10, 2021 at 7:11 PM with the headline "WA astronaut is 601st person in space. She’s headed to international station."