Population of space reaches record-breaking 14 peopleSeptember 16, 2021 - 18:16 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Earth orbit has never been so crowded. The launch of SpaceX's Inspiration4 mission last night (Sept. 15) brought the population of the final frontier to 14, one more than the previous high, Space reports. Those 14 folks are living aboard three different spacecraft. The Inspiration4 crew — Jared Isaacman, Hayley Arceneaux, Sian Proctor and Chris Sembroski — are zooming around Earth in a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule. Meanwhile, the International Space Station currently hosts seven people: NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough, Megan McArthur and Mark Vande Hei; Russian cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Oleg Novitskiy; Japan's Akihiko Hoshide; and the European Space Agency's Thomas Pesquet. And Chinese astronauts Nie Haisheng, Liu Boming and Tang Hongbo are living aboard Tianhe, the core module for China's planned Tiangong space station. "All the best to the crew of Inspiration 4!" Vande Hei wrote on Twitter before SpaceX's launch. "Private astronaut missions are part of the plan to help NASA meet its future needs. Those missions enable a strong market in low-Earth orbit, a market in which NASA will be one of many customers. Go, Inspiration! Go!" Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Czech-Armenian military cooperation discussed in Yerevan A delegation led by the Director General for the Industrial Cooperation Division of the Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic visited Armenia. U.S. welcomes efforts to define Armenia-Azerbaijan border The United States welcomes efforts to define the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan, says Vedant Patel. Biden honors resilience of Armenian people on April 24 U.S. President Joe Biden has issued a statement on the 109th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. Ex-Karabakh leader moved to solitary confinement cell in Baku, his son says David Vardanyan is the son of former Karabakh leader Ruben Vardanyan who who is currently imprisoned in Azerbaijan. |