ABC News By MARCIA DUNN 11/11/2021
A SpaceX rocket carried four astronauts into orbit Wednesday night, including the 600th person to reach space in 60 years.
The repeatedly delayed flight occurred just two days after SpaceX brought four other astronauts home from the International Space Station. They should have been up there to welcome the newcomers, but NASA and SpaceX decided to switch the order based on Monday’s ideal recovery weather in the Gulf of Mexico and pulled it off.
“It was a great ride, better than we imagined," mission commander Raja Chari said shortly after the spacecraft reached orbit.
The launch was just as riveting for spectators at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, as well as along the East Coast, as the Falcon rocket thundered through clouds on its way to space, turning night into day.
Germany’s Matthias Maurer claimed the No. 600 position, according to NASA, based on his mission assignment. He and his three NASA crewmates should arrive at the space station in under 24 hours, well over a week late.
The list of 600 travelers ranges from those who have barely scratched space — like actor William Shatner last month — to U.S. and Russian astronauts who have spent a year or more in orbit. This year’s surge in space tourists helped push the tally over the 600 mark.
That averages out to 10 people per year since Yuri Gagarin’s pioneering flight in 1961, Maurer noted.
“But I think in a very few years, we will see an exponential rise of that one because now we’re entering the era of commercial spaceflight,” he said after arriving at Kennedy Space Center two weeks ago.
More:
https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory/spacex-aims-night-crew-launch-ailing-astronaut-now-81093068
