Matthias and his NASA astronaut crew mates Raja Chari, Tom Marshburn and Kayla Barron were launched in a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft called Endurance at 02:03 GMT/03:03 CET Thursday 11 November from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA.
They will travel around 22 hours before docking to the Station, where they will conduct leak and pressurisation checks before opening the hatch and participating in a welcoming ceremony.
Watch the action live on NASA TV.
Crew-3 liftoff to the International Space Station in a SpaceX Crew Dragon. Credit: NASA
Upon arrival at the Station, Crew-3 will be greeted by NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei and Russian cosmonauts Anton Shkaplerov and Pyotr Dubrov, who are already on board, as members of Expedition 66.
Anton is the current commander of the International Space Station. He took over the role from ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet on 6 November, prior to Thomas’s return to Earth with Crew-2.
Cosmic Kiss is the first space mission for Matthias, who graduated as an ESA astronaut in 2018. Matthias will spend approximately six months supporting science and operations aboard the orbital outpost and is expected to perform a Russian spacewalk in support of the European Robotic Arm (ERA) activation, having certified in both the Russian Orlan and American Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) spacesuits.
Timeline for docking and welcome
| 23:33 GMT/00:33 CET | Thursday 11 November (GMT) Friday 12 November (CET) |
Endurance capsule docks to International Space Station |
| 01:45 GMT/02:45 CET* | Friday 12 November | Hatch opening |
| 02:20 GMT/03:20 CET* | Friday 12 November | Onboard welcoming ceremony |
*Likely to be earlier due to revised docking schedule
