The crew of the Dragon Grace capsule was welcomed aboard the International Space Station. During the official ceremony, Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski received a symbolic gold pin confirming that he is the 635th astronaut in space.
Approximately 28 hours after Wednesday’s launch from Cape Canaveral and 2 hours after docking, Peggy Whitson (USA), Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski (Poland/ESA), Tibor Kapu (Hungary) and Shubhanshu Shukla (India) joined the seven people already aboard the ISS.
The docking of the Dragon Grace capsule to the ISS involved several stages – using 16 thrusters, the capsule performed a sequence of precise maneuvers to synchronize the spacecraft’s orbit with the station’s. At each of these stages, the astronauts were prepared to take control of the ship, if any problems arose with the Dragon’s propulsion or maneuverability. At a distance of about 5 m from the ISS, the CHOP (Crew Hands Off Point) phase began, in which all operations are carried out automatically.
Peggy Whitson, who has already spent 676 days in space, presented the three newcomers to orbit – Uznański-Wiśniewski, Shukla, and Kapu – with symbolic gold pins with consecutive numbers awarded to astronauts who are in space for the first time. The Polish astronaut received a pin with the number 635, the Indian astronaut received number 634, and the Hungarian astronaut – number 636.
As Axiom Space (the main contractor for the Ax-4 mission) explains on its website, these pins are awarded by the Association of Space Explorers (ASE) to astronauts who have completed a suborbital or orbital flight around the Earth.
“This is the first Polish mission to the ISS. I am very happy to represent you, 40 million Poles. Thank you for your trust,” said Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski as he received the pin. “Space unites us. We are together, we are strong, and we are building our future.”
The Polish Space Agency has announced that during his stay on the International Space Station, the Polish astronaut will connect live six times with audiences in Poland. The dates of these events have not yet been set.
Source: PAP
