First German woman started into space

Space travel

First German woman started into space

A dozen German men have already been in space, but not yet a woman – until now: The Berliner Rabea Rogge has started a mission with a SpaceX team around the earth’s pole.

The Berliner Rabea Rogge was the first German woman to start space. On board a “Dragon” capsule, Rogge from the Cape Canaveral space station in the US state of Florida, which was shown on live images. The start takes place with a Falcon 9 rocket of the SpaceX space company by Tech-billiard Elon Musk.

“Fram2” – named after a Norwegian polar research ship from the 19th century – is to fly over the polar regions of the earth for around four days on a new orbit. Heavenly lights are to be examined from a height of 425 to 450 kilometers, and according to SpaceX, the first X -ray images of people in space could also be created. According to SpaceX, 22 scientific studies are to be carried out.

For the mission called “Fram2”, a billionaire once again commissioned the SpaceX company to carry out an all -flight out of private interest. This time it was the Maltese Chun Wang, born in China, who became rich with cryptocurrencies and is also on board. Rogge once met the billionaire during expedition training on Spitzbergen. He later asked her if she wanted to be there on the flight.

In addition to Rogge, filmmaker Jannicke Mikkelsen from Norway and the Polar Guide Eric Philips from Australia are also part of the crew. For months they have prepared for the mission with intensive training. “Our crew is strong, our training is intensive and our goal is not only to overcome limits, but also to create new opportunities for space travel and science,” said Rogge in advance of the German Press Agency.

After “Inspiration4” 2021 and “Polaris Dawn” 2024 – both also carried out by SpaceX – it is the third all -excursion with a crew, which does not include a trained astronaut. Not even a pilot’s license has one of them, said Rogge. “It is now about making space flight more accessible instead of considering it exclusive. This is the only way we can plan new, even more interesting space missions and move the limits.”

According to the German Aerospace Center (DLR), twelve German men were so far, but not a German woman in space. There were several candidates and reserve room drivers, but a woman has never really flown.

During the mission, five women will be in space at the same time: Rogge and Mikkelsen at “Fram2” and at the international space station, the US astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers and Wang Haoze at the Chinese station “Tiangong” (Himmelpalast).

Valentina Tereschkowa was the first woman on June 16, 1963 with the spaceship “Wostok 6”. For her almost three -day stay in weightlessness, the Russian, radio name “Tchaika” (Möwe), is now considered a living legend in Moscow. The Soviet Union celebrated a triumph in the cosmic race against the United States.

The 29-year-old Rogge is officially a scientific specialist on the “Fram2” mission. She studied electrical engineering and information technology at ETH Zurich. For her doctoral thesis, she switched to the technical and scientific university of Norway.

Rogge took a memorial medal in space, among other things, a memorial medal to flight pioneer Otto Lilienthal (1848-1896) and a small replica of the freedom bell in the town hall in Berlin-Schöneberg-the district in which she was born. She also has an analog camera with her: “I’m curious to see how the films will come out.”

“We want to show the pioneering spirit, wake up curiosity and demonstrate technology innovation,” said Rogge in advance. “I find it really encouraging to see how far we as humanity have come – if it is possible to build autonomous spaceships, everything should actually be possible.”