In the night from January 18 to 19 Saab-chief test pilot Marcus Wandt became only the third Swede in space to launch from Launch Pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida to the International Space Station ISS. The flight took place on a Falcon 9 rocket from SpaceX, which carried a Dragon space capsule with the four-person Axiom 3 crew (Axiom Space is a company that offers commercial space flights) to the ISS – Wandt has since returned safely. Wandt is now back on Earth safe and sound.
Wandt is the first ever so-called ESA project astronaut to be linked to this special flight opportunity with a fixed-term contract. He himself is a mission specialist, the other crew members are Walter Villadei from Italy and Alper Gezeravcı from Turkey. They flew under the command of Michael López-Alegría , who represents both the USA and Spain as a dual national.
Gripen E pioneer
The Militär Aktuell author has known Marcus Wendt for years from several conversations in Linköpping and Fairford about Gripen E and Meteor BVR. On June 15, 2017, the pilot performed the first flight of the new Gripen version and also fired a weapon from the fighter jet model for the first time on October 26, 2018 with an instrumented Iris-T.
Since he selected for the European Space Agency’s (ESA) space program in the autumn of 2022 Wanda has been on leave from Saab; on the ISS, he and his team have been researching the effects of weightlessness in order to understand how humans can live and work outside the Earth for longer periods of time.
Pride at Saab
Saab is one of the co-financiers of the project and, according to official statements, wants to “ensure that Sweden remains at the forefront of space exploration” with its commitment. “This is a significant and major event for both Sweden and the company,” said Micael Johansson, President and CEO of Saab, in a press release on the occasion of the launch. “Space is becoming an increasingly important area for Sweden and our defense capabilities. Saab’s focus on innovation and advanced technology means that we are now contributing to important research and development in space. We are proud that one of our employees is now the third Swede in space.”
Here for more news about Saab.
