Huginn launches into space

ARCHIVE CONTENT 18 AUG. 2023 26728

In brief

ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen launched on 26 August as part of Crew-7 to the International Space Station for his second mission, called Huginn, at 08:27 BST (09:27 CEST).The Dragon spacecraft is set to dock with the ISS at 14:05 BST/15:05 CEST on Sunday 27 August. Live coverage of the docking, ingress and welcome messages will be shown on ESA WebTV channel 2 from 12:15 BST/13:15 CEST.

Launch

Crew-7 consisting of ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen, NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli, JAXA astronaut Satoshi Furukawa and Roscosmos astronaut Konstantin Borisov took off in the SpaceX Crew Dragon Endurance on top of a Falcon 9 rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA. Liftoff took place at 08:27 BST (09:27 CEST, 03:27 local time).

First European Dragon pilot

Andreas will be the first European to take the role as pilot on the Crew Dragon, sitting next to Jasmin, the Crew-7 commander. Andreas monitored the spacecraft’s performance and systems were working as expected during the flight to the Space Station, like a copilot in an aircraft.

“It is an honour to be the pilot of Crew Dragon, with our international partners showing their trust in ESA and my work,” says Andreas.

Andreas Mogensen in quarantine for Huginn launch

Quarantine and traditions

Before launch, the astronauts enter quarantine to ensure no unwanted bacteria or viruses make their way to the Space Station.

The astronauts headed to Endurance three hours before liftoff, around 05:30 BST (06:30 CEST). Before walkout, the astronauts went through a series of traditions such as playing a card game with the head of NASA’s Astronaut Office until the astronauts win a round. They also signed their name on the wall of the last room before getting into the Dragon capsule.

The Dragon from liftoff to orbit. Note that the launch of Andreas and Crew-7, the first stage will land on ground, not on a sea platform.

Journey to space

Just two and half minutes after liftoff the Falcon 9 first-stage booster separated from the rocket to land back on Earth. The second stage continued to bring the crew to orbit around nine minutes after liftoff. Once the second stage cut its engines, a zero-g indicator started to float in the Endurance spacecraft, letting the crew know they have reached orbit.

The trip to the International Space Station takes around 24 hours where they will dock. The Huginn mission will officially begin as soon as Andreas passes the hatch to Earth’s orbiting laboratory.

Follow Andreas’s mission on the Huginn page and his social media.

Crew-7 launch schedule
Event	Local time in Florida (ET)	BST	CEST
Astronauts walk to the cars	00:00	05:00	06:00
Crew-7 drives to rocket	00:05	05:05	06:05
Arrival at pad 39a	00:20	05:20	06:20
Crew-7 enters Crew Dragon Endurance	00:40	05:40	06:40
Hatch closes	01:27	06:27	07:27
Launch	03:27	08:27	09:27
First stage separation	03:29	08:29	09:29
Second stage separation	03:39	08:39	09:39
Docking with ISS	09:05	14:05	15:05
Hatch opening	11:02	16:02	17:02
Welcome	11:30	16:30	17:30

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