New Castle astronaut readies for mission on historic anniversary
On July 20th, Dr. Andrew Morgan will blast off to the International Space Station for his first ever space mission. For the NASA astronaut who calls New Castle home, he gets to go up on the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing.
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio - On July 20th, Dr. Andrew Morgan will blast off to the International Space Station for his first ever space mission. For the NASA astronaut who calls New Castle home, he gets to go up on the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing.
"It is a huge honor to be launching on the anniversary of Apollo 11," said Dr. Andrew Morgan from Star City, Russia. "My Soyuz crew, and also the entire crew of Expedition 60, have been entrusted with being the torchbearers of this important legacy and for us to be able to do that, 50 years to the day of the Apollo moon landing, is just an incredible opportunity, an incredible honor for us and for that to happen in the year that NASA has reaffirmed its commitment to put astronauts on the surface of the moon by 2024 as part of the Artemis program is even more exciting."
Morgan is in Star City, Russia for final training and preparations.
"We train right up to the final days before launch, so training is always a huge part of what we're doing right up the last moment. We want to keep all of our skills fresh in our minds, and we have lots of important procedures we're gonna be running the moment that we launch and the entire time that we're on board," he said.
On July 20th, Morgan will blast off in a Russian Soyuz rocket from a launch pad in Kazakhstan. He and his crew will arrive at the ISS in about six hours. Morgan will then stay on board for about nine months.
"Every moment is spoken for throughout those nine months I'll be on board. They give us a full schedule of activity during the day to work on science experiments, maintaining the space station through maintenance. We'll probably prepare for a number of spacewalks during my time on board, but they also give us plenty of time to rest."
Morgan said several spacewalks are also planned and he hopes to get many great views of Earth.
"Really look forward to that opportunity and every opportunity that I'll have to look down on Earth through a window we have in back that looks straight down on the Earth at all times both during night passes and day passes and every astronaut that has flown and my colleagues and crew mates that are on board tell me it is every bit as awesome as you've heard," Morgan said.
Morgan could also be a part of another milestone during his stay. Late this year or early 2020, NASA's commercial crew vehicles are scheduled to arrive at the ISS. That arrival would mark a return of human spaceflight to the United States.
"Very important milestone for the ISS program because we all benefit when we have more than one way to get a crew to the ISS from both U.S. and Russia. Also, just a real honor for us to be up there potentially when these vehicles visit for the first time and one of the purposes of the ISS is to help us develop a commercial industry in low earth orbit, and this is just a manifestation of that."
Morgan, who is also a Colonel in the U.S. Army, calls his time as an astronaut an extension of his service to the country but understands the importance his role will play in the future of space exploration.
"This is just a huge, huge honor for us to be able to do this and continue to inspire generations, current generations, and future generations for space exploration. I am so honored to be part of it."
