The stunning views of the Earth and the “observations” between the zero gravity indicators of the turtle and the monkey are just some of the benefits enjoyed by Crew-4 astronauts on the brand new SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft called Freedom. “Our first and most beloved piece of being on Dragon so far is definitely the view,” said NASA astronaut Jessica Watkins, the first black female astronaut on a long mission, in a video broadcast Wednesday (April 27th). . “It was very nice to see the finish coming in and out [due to] “Day and night circles, to see the clouds,” Watkins added. “All rock formations are very interesting to me as a geologist.” Aside from the view, however, the crew spent some time talking about the plush turtle and little monkey that was launched with the SpaceX Crew-4 astronauts. “As everyone knows, when you take a turtle and a monkey together, it’s unbelievable,” said pilot Robert Hines. (The turtle, the monkey, and the word “shenanigan” refer to the names of the various classes of astronauts to which the crew members belong.)
From left: Crew-4 astronauts Jessica Watkins (NASA), Robert Hines (NASA) and (near the top) European Space Agency Samantha Cristoforetti with their spacecraft mascots. (Image: NASA) Freedom is the fourth and newest SpaceX Dragon capsule to transport astronauts into space after Endeavor, Resilience and Endurance. All four spacecraft were named by the first crews to lead them. The crew did not emphasize major differences between Freedom and previous NASA SpaceX Dragons, but noted that the new spacecraft is performing very well. “We had some burns during our sleep periods with, suddenly, new fuel cells,” said Samantha Cristoforetti of the European Space Agency. As her sleeping bag was gently pushed by the burn, she recalls, she moved to one of the nearby windows. “I saw the fairings visually,” Cristoforetti added, referring to the structures covering the upper stage of the Falcon 9 rocket launched by the Crew Dragon into space. “It was like a ghost flying behind us, the light was shining, it was creating incredible shapes. Then it became more incandescent and it was just beautiful.” Commander Kjell Lindgren also praised the Falcon 9. “The feel of the rocket last night was absolutely amazing, an incredibly smooth ride,” he said. “It was incredibly fun to feel this acceleration even after the lack of gravity after we got into orbit.” The crew docked at the International Space Station later Wednesday (April 27th) for an expected six-month mission. Follow Elizabeth Howell on Twitter @howellspace. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom or on Facebook.
