Just before 11 pm on Thursday evening, it was time for Marcus Wandt and three other astronauts to be launched into space with the Spacex rocket Falcon 9. The space capsule Spacex Dragon 2 will now take them to the international space station ISS. They will be there for two weeks.
Wandt, who is the third Swede in space, is participating in a research project initiated by the Royal Institute of Technology that studies how people’s physical and mental health is affected by staying in cramped spaces for longer periods.
Several fighter pilots in the team
In addition to Marcus Wandt, who is a fighter and test pilot and who previously served in the Swedish Air Force, the crew includes Alper Gezeravci, a fighter pilot in the Turkish Air Force; Walter Villadei, Colonel in the Italian Air Force. And last but not least the mission commander, Michael López-Alegría, a former NASA astronaut who spent more than 257 days in space in total during his career.
The group will arrive at the space station about 36 hours after launch, according to the European Space Agency.
Former Swedes in space
Previously, Swede Christer Fuglesang and American-Swedish Jessica Meir have traveled into space. Meir, who holds both American and Swedish citizenship, represents the United States as an astronaut.
See the postponement in the clip above. The entire broadcast can be watched SVT Play.