by Cape Canaveral, Florida (AP) – The first visitors to the international space station from India, Poland and Hungary returned to Earth on Monday, concluded a private mission and start home.
Their capsule was out of the surrounding laboratory and aimed the next morning in the Pacific off the coast of Southern California.
The short, privately financed mission was the first time in more than 40 years that India, Poland and Hungary saw one of their own rocket in orbit. The three astronauts were accompanied by America’s most experienced plane Peggy Whitson, who works for the Axiom Space, who chartered the flight. They started on June 25 from the Kennedy Space Center of NASA.
India’s Shubhanshu Shuckla, Poland Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski and Tibor Kapu in Hungary carried out dozens of experiments during their stay. They also decided calls from the prime ministers of their countries and school children.
“We will spread the word in our countries that these things are within our reach. These things are also possible for smaller countries like ours,” said Kapu during the farewell ceremony on Sunday, which ended in an emotional group compartment.
Shucla noticed that “it is really a miracle” when humanity comes together to form a common goal.
“The sky is no longer the limit. We can explore the room,” added Uznanski-Wisniewski.
Uznanski-Wisniewski was particularly proud in the first pierogies in space. He took the cabbage and the dumplings filled with mushrooms, which were freezing in advance to easily cook in gravity in zero-rash.
Her three countries shared the costs for the mission and paid more than 65 million US dollars each.
It was Axiom’s fourth station stipa since 2022. The Houston Company’s customers include both the rich and the countries that strive for representation in space. NASA covers commercial space flight and contributes the stage for private space stations in the works of Axiom and others as well as Lunar Landers.
The seven full -time residents of the space station remain in orbit and represent the USA, Russia and Japan. Four of them will be replaced by a fresh crew from SpaceX for NASA in a few weeks.
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