The Ax-3 crew, commander Michael "LA" López-Alegría, pilot Walter Villadei and mission specialists Marcus Wandt and Alper Gezeravcı (Turkey's first astronaut) have arrived at the International Space Station. See views shortly after soft capture of the Dragon spacecraft and their welcome ceremony.
Credit: NASA / SpaceX / Axiom Space
Credit: NASA / SpaceX / Axiom Space
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TechTranscript
00:00 Ring retraction proceeding as expected, getting views from one of the cameras on the Japanese exposed facility on the forward end of the space station,
00:10 seeing the starboard side of the Dragon.
00:14 As we continue to monitor the progress of this ring retraction, now getting some sun illuminating the nadir or earth-facing side,
00:28 and now the whole thing of Dragon freedom.
00:31 Sun is rising over the South Pacific Ocean as Dragon and International Space Station continue to fly on a southeastern trajectory.
00:57 Coming together first through the hatches, Marcus Wundt and Alper Ghiserauchi of Sweden and Turkey, respectively,
01:08 being greeted by the crew of Expedition 70.
01:11 The two are followed by Walter Villeday, pilot of the Dragon Freedom,
01:17 last coming into the International Space Station, Commander Michael Lopez-Alegria.
01:24 Eleven crew members representing seven nations now on board the International Space Station.
01:47 On behalf of the Expedition 70 crew, I'd like to welcome Axiom 3 on board the International Space Station.
01:56 This is an incredibly exciting time for human spaceflight with the third private mission,
02:03 which is allowing many more countries to participate in the scientific research and technology development that we do on board this orbiting laboratory.
02:15 We have doubled the number of nationalities on board the space station, going from four to eight,
02:24 which I think is a great testament to the international collaboration which underpins this marvelous space station.
02:34 I'm also very proud as a European to welcome four other Europeans.
02:39 I think this is the first time in the history of the space station that we have five Europeans on board at the same time.
02:46 And certainly it's the first time that we have two Scandinavians on board.
02:52 So I'm very happy to welcome my fellow Scandinavian, Marcus.
02:57 But we look forward to the next two weeks to an intense period of work on board the space station.
03:04 So a big warm welcome to Axiom 3 from us on board the space station.
03:10 Thanks, Andy. I think you said it very well.
03:15 This is really a symbol of how Axiom, in conjunction with NASA and all the partners, is working to expand human access to low Earth orbit.
03:25 And we've got, as Andy said, so many nationalities represented on board.
03:30 And this is really symbolic of what we're trying to do to open it up not only to other nations,
03:35 also to individuals, to researchers, to continue the great work that's been going on on board the ISS for the last two decades plus.
03:44 The ride uphill was pretty exciting. It never gets old.
03:49 I think we probably spent a few more hours in Dragon than we felt like we needed to.
03:53 But it was all good. Great vehicle.
03:57 Thanks to you at SpaceX for putting that thing together for us and for such smooth operation.
04:03 Let me pass the microphone down to my crewmates just for a couple of words,
04:06 and then I'd like to get it back at the very end if that's OK. Walter?
04:11 Thank you, Mike. I want to first of all thank the expedition crew for this warm welcoming.
04:17 It's amazing to be up here and to see how much really all the countries
04:22 and this amazing international collaboration has made in space, creating this outpost.
04:28 And I'm very grateful for Italy and just a few words in Italian.
04:33 So thank you.
04:34 Grazie. Grazie a tutta l'Italia.
04:37 Vorrei ringraziare non solo l'Aeronautica Militare,
04:39 ma anche tutte le istituzioni che hanno portato qui questa missione,
04:42 in questo straordinario contesto di collaborazione internazionale in cui abbiamo portato Scienza.
04:47 Per due settimane saremo qui a collaborare e lavorare con questo equipaggio internazionale straordinario.
04:53 Grazie mille.
04:54 And now I hand over to my colleagues and friend, Alper from Turkey.
05:00 Thanks so much.
05:02 I would like to thank first for your kind hospitality to Expedition 7 crew over here.
05:10 They were waiting for us at the door, actually.
05:13 So that was a very nice, kind welcoming for us.
05:17 I would like to thank everybody for their great effort for us to be able to make it over here
05:24 in the last eight months training period, as well as all the counterparts for their contribution
05:30 for our safe travel to make it over to ISS.
05:34 We are happy as Turkey to step for the first time in our history
05:40 and looking forward to contribute into the science and research efforts over here.
05:47 And I would like to say a couple words to my country.
05:51 (Speaking Turkish)
06:11 Now I would like to pass over the microphone to my dear friend, Marcus Wand from Sweden,
06:17 representing here, ESA.
06:19 Thank you, Alper.
06:21 I also want to say first a big thank you to Expedition 70 for greeting us
06:26 and knocking on our door in the middle of everything.
06:29 That was pretty amazing, been flying around orbiting Earth for 36 hours or so
06:35 and then someone knocks on the door.
06:37 That's pretty strange.
06:39 And also I want to say that having this many nationalities on a mission like this,
06:45 it just tells me that collaboration can take you very far.
06:50 Entering the hatch here and meeting other people in space from so many different cultures
06:55 and places around the world just gives me a strong sense of future, which is awesome.
07:02 I also want to say a few words in Swedish to Sweden.
07:06 (Speaking Swedish)
07:14 (Speaking Swedish)
07:42 (Speaking Swedish)
07:46 All right, thank you. Mike.
07:50 So now I'd like to continue a bit of a tradition that we started,
07:54 and that is to award the Universal Astronaut Symbol pin, if I don't lose it,
08:00 to each of these steely-eyed aviators.
08:04 I think it's telling that these will be the seventh, eighth, and ninth people
08:09 that Axiom has provided pins.
08:11 In fact, since we started flying in 2022, no agency has pinned more new astronauts.
08:17 And again, this is symbolic of us trying to open up the access to low-Earth orbit
08:22 to more and more people.
08:24 So first of all, Colonel Walter de Villade, it is my pleasure to--
08:28 No, no, I'm going to put it on you.
08:31 You'll be number 609.
08:34 Wow, that's a privilege, Mike. Thank you so much.
08:37 Let me see if I can stabilize myself without missing.
08:48 If you guys can slide down and have these guys slide here. Thank you.
08:57 This is a real pleasure to award this pin to the first Turkish astronaut in history.
09:03 I don't think I need to say anything more.
09:10 Can you hold the microphone?
09:23 I think it's broken.
09:34 There we go.
09:37 And finally, Marcus. Thank you, Andy.
09:57 Thank you, Mike.
09:59 I failed to mention Alper obviously is number 610 and Marcus is 611.
10:05 And finally, I want to thank all of you guys again for welcoming us aboard.
10:09 I know that it's tough to have guests in your house
10:12 and we promise not to spill any red wine on your white carpet.
10:15 Thank you, Andy.
10:17 [Music]