After more than 40 years, a Hungarian astronaut, Tibor Kapu, traveled to space again as part of the Axiom-4 mission. Also on board was Polish astronaut, Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski, who became the second Pole in history to fly into space.
The Axiom 4 mission to the International Space Station (ISS) began on Wednesday, June 25, at 8:31 a.m. Polish and Hungarian time. A Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon capsule lifted off from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida.
The astronauts are scheduled to reach the ISS at around 1:00 p.m. Central European Time on Thursday, June 26. Also on board are the American Peggy Whitson and Indian Shubhanshu Shukla.
The astronauts will travel to the ISS in a newly developed Dragon space capsule and will all participate as mission experts.
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán also brought the historic moment to the attention of his followers. He wrote the following caption during a live broadcast:
“The stars are the limit. A Hungarian in space again. Go, Tibor Kapu!”
Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski is the second Pole, after Mirosław Hermaszewski, to take part in a space mission. The IGNIS mission, carried out jointly with ESA and partners from the private sector, is the first such large research project conducted by Poles in space. The team, consisting of hundreds of engineers and scientists, worked on experiments in the field of medicine, biology, AI and space technologies. Uznański-Wiśniewski and his fellow astronauts are to spend 14 days in space.
During their stay on the International Space Station, the astronauts will perform about 60 scientific experiments.
Before the launch, Kapu posted to social media: “My name, my father’s name, and my flag are on my spacesuit.”
Be the first to comment