iPhone | iPad
Android
Huawei
Using minimal invasive technology, the surgical institute is offering enhanced care to offer life-changing solutions to patients
KT APPDOWNLOAD
Three Russian cosmonauts arrive at space station wearing Ukrainian flag colours
Since the military operation started, many people have used the Ukrainian flag and its colours to show solidarity with the country
Roscosmos via AP
Three Russian cosmonauts arrived at the International Space Station on Friday wearing yellow flight suits with blue accents, colours that appeared to match the Ukrainian flag.
The men were the first new arrivals on the space station since the start of the Russian military operation in Ukraine last month. Russian space corporation Roscosmos cosmonauts Oleg Artemyev, Denis Matveyev and Sergey Korsakov blasted off successfully from the Russia-leased Baikonur launch facility in Kazakhstan in their Soyuz MS-21 spacecraft at 8.55pm Friday. They smoothly docked at the station just over three hours later, joining two Russians, four Americans and a German on the orbiting outpost.
Video of Artemyev taken as the spacecraft prepared to dock with the space station showed him wearing a blue flight suit. It was unclear what, if any, message the yellow uniforms they changed into were intended to send.
When the cosmonauts were able to talk to family back on Earth, Artemyev was asked about the suits. He said every crew chooses their own.
“It became our turn to pick a colour. But in fact, we had accumulated a lot of yellow material so we needed to use it. So that’s why we had to wear yellow,” he said.
Since the war started, many people have used the Ukrainian flag and its colours to show solidarity with the country.
The war has resulted in cancelled spacecraft launches and broken contracts. Roscosmos chief Dmitry Rogozin has warned that the US would have to use “broomsticks” to fly into space after Russia said it would stop supplying rocket engines to US companies. Many worry, however, that Rogozin is putting decades of a peaceful off-planet partnership at risk, most notably at the space station.
Nasa Administrator Bill Nelson played down Rogozin’s comments, telling The Associated Press: “That’s just Dmitry Rogozin. He spouts off every now and then. But at the end of the day, he’s worked with us.”
ALSO READ:
“The other people that work in the Russian civilian space program, they’re professional,” Nelson told the AP on Friday. “They don’t miss a beat with us, American astronauts and American mission control. Despite all of that, up in space, we can have a cooperation with our Russian friends, our colleagues.”
Nasa astronaut Mark Vande Hei — who on Tuesday broke the US single spaceflight record of 340 days — is due to leave the space station with two Russians aboard a Soyuz capsule for a touchdown in Kazakhstan on March 30.
In April, another three Nasa and one Italian astronaut are set to blast off for the space station.
More news from
The American basketball player was released from a Russian prison in exchange for Viktor Bout who was sentenced to 25 years behind bars in the US
The first three hour-long episodes of the royal couple were released on Thursday, with three more due on December 15
Tax shall be imposed on profits accrued and not on the total turnover
More than 1,550 of some 17,903 marine plants and animals assessed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature are at risk of extinction
Lumpectomy's advantages include quicker recovery and better cosmetic results, reveals a new study
Through the digital link between Mohre and ICP, residents and companies are able to avail of services within minutes
With over a millions followers on Instagram Roberto believes that food has the ability to bring the world together and make it a better place