SpaceX’s Crew Dragon Freedom Arrives at International Space Station with Ax-3 Astronauts
⬇️ Pidgin | ⬇️ ⬇️ EnglishTitle: SpaceX’s Crew Dragon “Freedom” Docks Up ‘n Away at ISS wit’ Private Ax-3 Crew! 🚀🌌
Aloha, braddahs an’ sistahs! Today, we talkin’ ’bout some outta dis world stuff, da SpaceX Crew Dragon “Freedom” touchdown at da International Space Station (ISS) early Saturday! Dem got four astronauts from da private Ax-3 mission onboard, ready fo’ a two-week vacation in dis orbiting laboratory.
Da Ax-3 mission, dat launched on top of one SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket dis past Thursday (Jan. 18), wen’ on one wild ride, takin’ ’bout 36 hours fo’ da chase to end today (Jan. 20) at 5:42 a.m. EST (1042 GMT). Da Freedom capsule made its grand entrance, dockin’ at da front port on da station’s Harmony module, while da two spacecraft was cruisin’ ’bout 262 miles above da South Pacific. Dis here Ax-3 action be SpaceX’s third go at private human spaceflight for Axiom Space, an’ dey already wen’ fly nine folks to da ISS since way back in 2022, bruddahs an’ sistahs.
Andreas Morgensen, da commander of da seven-person Expedition 70 crew, representin’ da European Space Agency, said, “Dis is an incredibly exciting time fo’ human spaceflight wit’ da third private mission, which is allowing many more countries to participate in da scientific research and technology development dat we do onboard dis orbiting laboratory. We have doubled da number of nationalities onboard da space station goin’ from four to eight, which I think is one great testament to da international collaboration which underpins dis marvelous space station.”
Dis Ax-3 crew bringin’ da diversity, folks, and dey ain’t foolin’ around! We talkin’ ’bout Axiom’s first all-European crew, includin’ da first astronaut from Turkey, Alper Gezeravcı. He hangin’ out wit’ da Ax-3 mission commander and former NASA astronaut Michael “L.A.” López-Alegría, who got citizenship both from da U.S. an’ Spain. We also get mission pilot Walter Villadei from da Italian Air Force an’ mission specialist Marcus Wandt from da European Space Agency, reppin’ Sweden.
Dis party don’t stop here, oh no! Da ISS got one whole bunch of peeps chillin’ up there, includin’ Morgensen from Denmark, NASA astronauts Jasmin Moghbeli and Loral O’Hara from da U.S., Satoshi Furukawa from Japan, an’ da Russian cosmonaut trio Konstantin Borisov, Oleg Kononenko, and Nikolai Chub. Dey all be livin’ in harmony up there, floatin’ around like it’s a big cosmic luau.
When da time was right, da hatches opened between da ISS an’ da Freedom capsule at 7:13 a.m. EST (1213 GMT). Ax-3 crew slid in, ready to join da celestial bash!
López-Alegría spoke some wise words durin’ one televised welcome ceremony on da ISS. He said, “Dis is really one symbol of how Axiom, wit’ NASA an’ other partners, stay workin’ to expand human access to low Earth orbit. We’ve got, as Andy said, so many nationalities represented on board, an’ dis is really symbolic of what we’re trying to do to open it up not only to other nations, also to individuals to researchers to continue da great work dat’s been going on onboard da ISS fo’ da last two decades plus.”
Dis ain’t just a space ride, bruddahs an’ sistahs, it’s a journey of cultural exchange and discovery up dere in da great beyond. López-Alegría, one former ISS commander who wen’ on three NASA shuttle flights, handed out some Universal Astronaut Pins to his three Ax-3 crewmates. Dis be one big deal for Gezeravcı and Wandt, while Villadei had one taste of suborbital flight wit’ Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo Unity, but dis be his first time chillin’ up dere in orbit.
While dey up in dat space pad, da Ax-3 crew goin’ grind, yeah? Dey goin’ live an’ work wit’ da station’s current residents, doin’ experiments fo’ all kinds of research. Plenty of dat science focus on human spaceflight an’ what it’s like to live up in dat microgravity world. Dey ain’t messin’ around!
Gezeravcı, one mission specialist from Turkey, took a moment to say thanks. He said, “I would like to thank for everybody for their great effort for us to be able to make it over here, in the last eight months training period as well as all the counterparts for their contribution for our safe travels. To make it over to ISS, we are happy as Turkey to [take this] step for the first time in our history.”
Ax-3 mission got some cool research, like robotics experiments wit’ high-strength alloys, thinkin’ ’bout in-space construction and assemblies. Dey even got one experiment from Turkey called Vokalkord, usin’ artificial intelligence algorithms to diagnose all kinds of diseases just by listenin’ to someone’s cough or talkin’. Dat’s some space-age medicine, bruddahs an’ sistahs!
But wait, da party ain’t over yet. Da Ax-3 crew gonna stay up dere for ’bout 14 days, enjoyin’ da cosmic vibes, and when it’s time to leave da ISS, dey gonna hop back in dat SpaceX capsule an’ float back down to Earth wit’ one parachute-assisted splashdown off da coast of Florida. It’s like one big splashdown luau, if you ask me!
López-Alegría wrapped tings up wit’ one final message to da ISS crew. He said, “I want to thank all of you guys again for welcoming us aboard. I know dat it’s tough to have guests in your house and we promise not to spill any red wine on your white carpet.”
And dat’s a wrap, braddahs an’ sistahs! Da Ax-3 mission is in full swing, and da ISS is rockin’ wit’ diversity and international cooperation. Stay tuned for more cosmic updates and keep ridin’ da space wave! 🚀🌌
Editor’s note: Dis story was updated on Jan. 20 to include da successful docking an’ welcome ceremony of da four Ax-3 astronauts to da International Space Station. 🌟
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Josh Dinner, da Space.com Content Manager, stay on da space beat since 2016, sharin’ da evolution of NASA’s commercial spaceflight partnerships, from early Dragon and Cygnus cargo missions to da ongoing development and launches of crewed missions from da Space Coast. He also enjoys buildin’ 1:144 scale models of rockets and human-flown spacecraft. 🌌🚀
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