Population of space reaches record-breaking 14 peopleSeptember 16, 2021 - 18:16 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Earth orbit has never been so crowded. The launch of SpaceX's Inspiration4 mission last night (Sept. 15) brought the population of the final frontier to 14, one more than the previous high, Space reports. Those 14 folks are living aboard three different spacecraft. The Inspiration4 crew — Jared Isaacman, Hayley Arceneaux, Sian Proctor and Chris Sembroski — are zooming around Earth in a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule. Meanwhile, the International Space Station currently hosts seven people: NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough, Megan McArthur and Mark Vande Hei; Russian cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Oleg Novitskiy; Japan's Akihiko Hoshide; and the European Space Agency's Thomas Pesquet. And Chinese astronauts Nie Haisheng, Liu Boming and Tang Hongbo are living aboard Tianhe, the core module for China's planned Tiangong space station. "All the best to the crew of Inspiration 4!" Vande Hei wrote on Twitter before SpaceX's launch. "Private astronaut missions are part of the plan to help NASA meet its future needs. Those missions enable a strong market in low-Earth orbit, a market in which NASA will be one of many customers. Go, Inspiration! Go!" Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Government reveals details from Pashinyan’s meeting in border village Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has met with a group of residents of a border village in Armenia’s northern Tavush province Narek Manasyan wins European Boxing Championships silver for Armenia Armenia’s Narek Manasyan (92kg) won Armenia’s second silver medal at the European Boxing Championships 2024 on April 28. Blinken urges Azerbaijan to continue negotiations with Armenia Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken has urged Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to continue negotiations with Armenia. Pashinyan, Blinken talk Armenia-U.S. ties over the phone Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan had a phone conversation with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on April 28, Pashinyan’s office reports. |