At 9.52 Italian today Samantha Cristoforetti left aboard a SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket, the famous company of Elon Musk. It all happened in Cape Canaveral, Florida. A return to orbit for the Italian astronaut, on his second experience aboard the International Space Station (ISS). Everything went well after some postponements in the last few days. Alongside her, the Americans Kjell Lindgren, Bob Hine and Jessica Watkins. Cristoforetti's mission will last at least six months.
Samantha Cristoforetti on the ISS
The International Space Station is the largest laboratory ever built by man in orbit. Samantha Cristoforetti's new mission is called Minerva and the astronaut will be engaged in several important experiments. She last spent 199 days, 16 hours and 42 minutes on the ISS between 2014 and 2015.
The name of the mission, Minerva, obviously derives from the Roman divinity of wisdom. She was the protector of artisans and this denomination is in honor of all the people who have made space exploration possible in recent decades. The launch from Cape Canaveral is something that Elon Musk made it possible again. In 2011 there was in fact the retirement of the Space Shuttles and for almost 10 years the launches had been possible only in Kazakhstan, aboard the Soyuz. Space X has changed the rules with their own reusable rockets, therefore cheaper. Boeing is expected to make its own proposal but it won't happen anytime soon. The development of the system has suffered numerous delays and is still in the testing phase.
Featured photo source: https://www.instagram.com/spacex/
