Amid the escalating tensions between Russia and the United States over the Ukraine war, a SpaceX spacecraft bound for the International Space Station (ISS) was launched on Wednesday (October 5) carrying a Russian crewmate.
The Crew-5 mission, which also comprises one Japanese and two American astronauts, added Anna Kikina, the only woman in active service as a cosmonaut.
Moments before liftoff from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida at noon, Crew-5 mission commander Nicole Mann, the first Native American in space, said: “Let’s do this”.
Almost two weeks ago, a Russian Soyuz rocket carried an American astronaut to the orbital platform. Despite the rising tensions between the US and Russia since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in February, the planned astronaut exchange programme has continued.
ALSO READ | ‘More accurate, reliable, and happier’: Robo arm makes better french fries and onion rings than humans
This collaboration ensures the operation of the ISS, which has become one of the few remaining areas of cooperation between the US and Russia.
NASA associate administrator Kathy Lueders told reporters in a recent press conference: “When you each are flying other’s crew members, you know that you have a huge responsibility that you’re promising to the other country.”
Lueders added, “At a working level, we really appreciated the constancy in the relationship, even during some really, really tough times geopolitically.”
WATCH: US manufacturing growth slows to lowest since May 2020, says survey
Who is Anna Kikina?
The 38-year-old Kikina is an engineer by training and will become the fifth Russian female professional cosmonaut to go into space.
The Novosibirsk native told AFP in August: “I hope in the near future we have more women in the cosmonaut corps.”
Kikina will also be the first Russian to fly with Elon Musk’s SpaceX which, along with Boeing, has a “taxi service” contract with NASA.
WATCH WION LIVE HERE
You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.
