“Final Countdown” – As Astronaut Maurer Flies to the ISS

HOUSTON (DPA) — In orbit from the East Coast: For the first time in three years, a German flies into space again in late October (Oct. 30) — and Mathias Maurer can hardly wait for a launch from Cape Canaveral Spaceport, Florida In.

“There’s so much we haven’t discovered or understood. And this incredible adventure, to explore space and everything that happens in it, is just fascinating,” says Maurer, full of anticipation for his exploration mission aboard the International Space Station. Huh.

Astronauts of the European Space Agency (ESA) will stay at the Humanitarian Outpost for about six months. He also wants to be a good ambassador for the people on earth 400 kilometers away. “Anyone interested in space travel can see new photos, videos and more from space,” the Saarland native tells the German Press Agency.

Maurer’s Spacecraft: “Crew Dragon” by SpaceX

Having flown with three American allies – two men and one woman – Maurer will be the twelfth German in space and the fourth German on the ISS. He will be the first German to arrive at the flight laboratory with the “Crew Dragon” capsule. It is also a sign of a paradigm shift in space: Maurer’s predecessors traveled to the Colossus across the universe in Russian “Soyuz” capsules or American spacecraft. Maurer’s spacecraft, on the other hand, comes from SpaceX, a private company owned by Tesla boss Elon Musk.

Maurer, 51, is the oldest German cosmonaut in the first flight. A person with a PhD in materials science surpassed more than 8,000 candidates after his application.

For years he trained for weightlessness, including Moscow. His Russian is not as good as his English, “Germany’s next man in space.” But if he does land according to plan during his mission, he will be wearing a Russian spacesuit. “Then I have to speak Russian. I could switch to English, but I want to do it in Russian.”

equipped for everything

In general, a very broad training from scientist to technician to mechanic is an excellent preparation, says Maurer. » If the worst comes to the worst, we should be able to help our allies. So we also learn to clean, sew, staple or glue open wounds. In extreme cases, we can even repair a tooth filling or pull a tooth.”

At a speed of about 28,000 kilometers per hour, the ISS travels around the world in about 90 minutes. Astronauts grumble about the view of our planet. At night the cities sparkle as the lighthouses of civilization, during the day the seas shine. More than a dozen nations – in addition to the United States and Russia, mainly Europeans as well as Japan and Canada – are participating in the ISS. The research complex has been permanently inhabited by astronauts since 2000 and is considered a major technological achievement, despite its shortcomings. As the last German to date, Alexander Gerst flew to the ISS in 2018.

During his mission called “Cosmic Kiss”, Maurer will conduct more than 100 experiments, 36 of which will be with German participation. One of them is a fitness suit that has built-in electrodes that support muscle building with mild electrical impulses. “In some cases, scientists have invested many years in preparing experiments for the ISS,” Maurer emphasized. “I will give everything to make it happen well and successfully.”

And how does he use his limited free time on board? A few days ago they published a list of 113 songs they would like to hear in space, such as Hubert Kah’s “Starry Sky” or Europe’s “The Final Countdown”. “I think she turned out great.”

a piece of home in your luggage

Maurer’s belongings also contain a red chalk from his homeland, the Oberthal district of Grönig. Such stones were once used for drawing – and the people of Oberthal used them to travel the Mediterranean to trade. The stone stands for knowledge transfer with other countries, says Astronaut. “And that’s exactly what we’re doing today: We’re flying to the ISS as part of an international team, and Rotelstein should be the epitome of what you can achieve when you do something big together.” Huh.”

Maurer does not take personal clothing with him. “There are standard clothes. For example, astronauts have so much underwear that they can change them every two days, astronauts change every three days.”

He has a T-shirt one week, which he wears to the game the next week. “For my six-month mission, I have six pairs of pants — a month. You have to be careful not to get dirty,” he says with a smile. There are no washing machines on the ISS. The crew packs dirty laundry and into an unused transporter, which is undocked and burned.

Early this morning on Saturday (Oct. 30), Maurer is scheduled to fly to workplaces in space with NASA astronauts Thomas Marshburn, Raja Chari and Kayla Barron. Docking is expected on Sunday. Maurer also works with Russian astronauts on the ISS.

» I speak many languages, I am creative as a scientist and I enjoy taking pictures. I think these are the points that help the team succeed,” says the 51-year-old. And if it should turn into a space frenzy? “Then we’ll talk about it. We are trained to solve problems in good time – before a real crisis develops.”

© dpa-infocom, dpa: 211018-99-633626/2