On September 11, 2024, Earth reached a brand new milestone in house journey, with a document 19 folks at present orbiting our planet. This new document was set when a Russian Soyuz rocket launched three new astronauts in the direction of the International Space Station (ISS). The earlier document of 17 was set final 12 months. This vital improve in human presence in house highlights the rising exercise and collaboration within the realm of house exploration.
Soyuz Launches New Crew
The Soyuz mission took off on September 11, 2024, carrying NASA astronaut Don Pettit and Russian cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner. Their arrival on the ISS is anticipated to happen round 3:30 p.m. EDT (1930 GMT) on the identical day.
This trio joins the present 9 astronauts aboard the ISS, together with NASA’s Michael Barratt, Tracy Caldwell-Dyson, Matthew Dominick, Jeanette Epps, Barry Wilmore, and Suni Williams, together with cosmonauts Nikolai Chub, Alexander Grebenkin, and Oleg Kononenko.
International and Private Space Missions
Currently, three astronauts are residing on China’s Tiangong house station: Li Cong, Li Guangsu, and Ye Guangfu. Additionally, 4 astronauts are on the Polaris Dawn mission aboard a Crew Dragon capsule. This mission, which started on September 10, 2024, goals to set new records in non-public house exploration, together with a deliberate spacewalk by Jared Isaacman and Sarah Gillis on September 12, 2024.
Records and Milestones
The document for the most individuals in house at one time was 20, set briefly in May 2023 after which once more on January 26, 2024. This document was achieved when six house vacationers joined 14 astronauts in orbit. For those that contemplate the Kármán line because the boundary of house, the document for most individuals in house stays at 19, tied by the Soyuz launch and Blue Origin’s suborbital New Shepard mission on December 11, 2021.
This achievement displays the rising tempo of human house exploration and worldwide cooperation in orbit.
