Polish astronaut addresses nation from space
Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski, the second Pole to journey into space, has shared his first impressions after being injected into the Earth's orbit and addressed all Poles as their representative on the space mission.
During a live broadcast from the Dragon capsule travelling to the International Space Station (ISS), Uznanski-Wisniewski said on Thursday that his initial glimpse of outer space was "just stunning."
"Dear Poles," he addressed his compatriots. "We have come here to represent all of you, our countries, including Poland. I am taking your hearts, your hopes with me and I can feel that you all are here with me."
"We are heading to the International Space Station to conduct our... experiments, demonstrate our technology, at the same time preparing the technological future for Poland, not only for us, but for the entire space industry, for the new generation of engineers who will be entering the market," he added.
After several delays, the Axiom Mission 4 commercial flight launched successfully at 2:31am EDT on Wednesday from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
The capsule carrying Uznanski-Wisniewski along with Peggy Whitson from the US, Shubhanshu Shukla from India and Tibor Kapu representing Hungary, is expected to attempt docking with the ISS at approximately 7am EST on Thursday. (PAP)
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