The Berliner Rabea Rogge could become the first German woman in space this week.
On board a “Dragon” capsule and with the help of a Falcon 9 rocket of the SpaceX space company from Tech billionaire Elon Musk Rogge is scheduled to start in Cape Cape Canaveral in the US state of Florida on Tuesday morning. However, the start could also be shifted at short notice for various reasons.
According to the German Aerospace Center (DLR), twelve German men were so far, but not a German woman in space. There were several candidates and reserve room drivers, but a woman has never really flown.
“I’m happy to start with this incredible crew”
The mission called “Fram2” – named after a Norwegian polar research ship from the 19th century – is to take around four days. The “Dragon” capsule is to fly over the polar regions of the earth on a new orbit. Heavenly lights are to be examined from a height of 425 to 450 kilometers, and according to SpaceX, the first X -ray images of people in space could also be created.
For “FRAM2”, as in the past, a billionaire has once again commissioned the SpaceX company to carry out a mission for private interest. This time it was the Maltese Chun Wang who has become rich with cryptocurrencies and is also flying along. The filmmaker Jannicke Mikkelsen from Norway and the Polar Guide Eric Philips from Australia are also part of the crew. “I look forward to starting with this incredible crew,” wrote the 29-year-old Rogge on the online platform X.
Months of intensive preparation
The German is officially involved in the mission as a scientific specialist. She studied electrical engineering and information technology at ETH Zurich. In doing so, she also worked on a concept of a nanosatellite centrifuge in a low orbit. For her doctoral thesis, she switched to the technical and scientific university of Norway.
Rogge and the rest of the crew have been preparing for the mission with intensive training for months. Among other things, various scenarios and the reactions on it were played through in the SpaceX training capsule. There were also medical training and training sessions for the planned scientific experiments. “The technical background is the easiest for me because I recognize many of the systems from my time as a system engineer in the satellite project,” Rogge told the German Press Agency a few months ago.
Training even in Alaska
In addition, the room suits of the four crew members were precisely adjusted and there were exercises for group dynamics, such as a sea kayak training in Alaska. The team welded that together, said Rogge. “To defy the wilderness in wet clothes for seven days in wet clothing has already brought us together.”
Rogge wants to take a commemorative medal to the flight pioneer Otto Lilienthal (1848-1896) and a small replica of the freedom bell in the town hall in Berlin-Schöneberg-the district in which she was born.
On other astronauts, they admire the calm they radiated, says Rogge. Hopefully she will never experience a stressful situation in space – “but in my opinion the NASA astronauts that I have met so far have always broadcast a lot of version and calm”.
“Huge joy” at the German space agency
From the German space agency in the German Aerospace Center (DLR) it says that you are very happy about the start of Rogge. “For the first time, a German woman flies into space, not in a state program, but with a private initiative,” said Walther Pelzer, DLR board member and general director of the German space agency. Tax money would have to be used for the flight nor for the transport of the experiments.
“This shows how much strength can be in private initiatives,” said Pelzer of the German Press Agency. “I very much hope that Rabea Rogge and” Fram2 “awakens enthusiasm among the young generation for science and engineering professions.”
Expert Wörner: “Certainly a great experience”
According to Europe’s former space manager Jan Wörner, the mission “is certainly a great experience for the crew”. He hopes that the increased radiation on the Poles does not lead to health consequences. “The reason for the Northern Lights is the fact that the magnetic field of the earth concentrates the particles coming from the sun there,” said Wörner. “It would be very nice if scientific results were achieved through the mission.”
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Washington/Berlin (dpa-Afx)