Four astronauts are on the privately operated SpaceX crew carrier Resilience heading to the International Space Station, the first of what the United States hopes will be many missions. Three Americans - Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover and Shannon Walker - and Japan's Soichi Noguchi blasted off around 8.30am Hong Kong time yesterday from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, ending almost a decade of reliance on Russia for rides on its Soyuz rockets. "This is a great day for the United States of America and a great day for Japan," said Nasa administrator Jim BridenstineTwelve minutes after liftoff at an altitude of 200 kilometers and a speed of 27,000 kmh the capsule separated from the second stage of the rocket. It should reach the ISS around noon today Hong Kong time, joining two Russians and one American for a six-month stay. After a slight problem with temperature controls, SpaceX president Glynne Shotwell said: "She's operating just fine.

Source: The Standard November 17, 2020 01:18 UTC