Minnesota astronaut heads to space on Space-X mission

WHITE BEAR LAKE, Minn. (Valley News Live) — NASA astronaut and Minnesota native Josh Cassada is part of the Space-X mission that launched on Wednesday.

The launch of Crew-5 also includes NASA astronaut Nicole Mann, Roscosmos cosmonaut Anna Kikina and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s Koichi Wakata.

Cassada grew up in White Bear Lake and trained as a U.S. Navy Test pilot before being chosen by NASA in 2013. After completing training in 2015, he served as a capsule communicator in Mission Control and also helped in developing the Orion spacecraft. He is also a physicist, earning his Physics B.A. at Albion College and his Ph.D. at the University of Rochester.

The Space-X Crew Dragon Spacecraft had a picture-perfect launch from the Kennedy Space Center on Wednesday morning.

Russian Anna Kikina is the first Cosmonaut to ride aboard a U.S. spacecraft in two decades.

The flight is about 29 hours and the crew is expected to reach the International Space Station Thursday evening, where they will remain on board for a 150-day science mission.