Cosmonaut Kirill Peskov spoke about the sensations of launching to the ISS on a Falcon 9

Cosmonaut Kirill Peskov shared his feelings about flying on a Falcon 9 rocket to the International Space Station (ISS). In an interview with Izvestia on September 17, he spoke about comparing these processes with Russian ships, as well as about the comfort of staying on the ISS and landing in the Crew Dragon capsule.

Peskov noted that it was difficult for him to compare rocket launches with flights on Russian ships, since he had no experience flying on Soyuz. However, according to him, the launch of a Falcon 9 rocket can be compared to a long takeoff run of a civilian aircraft on the runway. He stressed that at the time of the rocket launch, he was pressed into the seat with the same force as when the plane was taking off, and the sounds were similar to those that accompany takeoff.

"It's quite comfortable. There was no fear <...> there was excitement, but it started about 10, 20 seconds before the breakaway. And the moment the rocket was lifted off the launch pad, it was gone," Peskov said.

Regarding the simulators for simulating the launch process, Peskov clarified that the Cosmonaut Training Center (CPC) has a centrifuge on which it is possible to simulate the launch of a Soyuz rocket. He also noted that although the simulator does not simulate the Falcon 9, the sensations from the Soyuz simulation are very similar to the actual physical sensations at launch.

Speaking about returning to Earth and landing on water in the Crew Dragon capsule, the cosmonaut noted that the process was comfortable. He compared the landing with what his colleagues who had experience flying on Soyuz had told him. They said that landing on Land and landing in water are similar in feeling.

"The Soyuz lands just as gently. And this was surprising to me, because from the outside it looks like landing on the ground, on a hard, dusty steppe, somehow it looks tougher than landing in water," the cosmonaut noted.

Common orbit: the heads of Roscosmos and NASA will meet after eight years

Bakanov and Duffy will discuss the cross-flight program and the future of the International Space Station.

The launch of the Falcon-9 rocket with the Crew Dragon spacecraft was announced on August 1. The launch of the launch vehicle from the John F. Kennedy Space Center site took place at 11:43 local time (18:43 Moscow time). On August 2, the ship docked with the ISS.

On July 30, Roscosmos announced that Dmitry Bakanov, CEO of the state corporation, visited the John F. Kennedy Space Center in the United States, where he met with the crew of the Crew Dragon spacecraft.

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