Rabea Rogge as the first German woman in space

SpaceX mission

Rocket launch launched – Rabea Rogge is the first German in space

A dozen German men was already in space – but no woman yet. That has changed with the Berliner Rabea Rogge tonight.

The Berliner Rabea Rogge flew into space as the first German woman tonight. On board a “Dragon” capsule and with the help of a Falcon 9 rocket by the SpaceX space company from Tech-billionaire Elon Musk, the 29-year-old started with three other crew members from the Cape Canaveral space station in the US state of Florida.

Here you can follow the start and flight in SpaceX’s livestream:

The space company had previously announced on the “X” platform that the engines were successfully tested. The company also published a photo of the so-called “Static Fire Test” of the Falcon 9 rocket.

“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.