Multi-National Crew Reaches Space Station

An anonymous reader writes A Russian capsule carrying three astronauts from Russia, the United States and Italy has blasted off for the International Space Station. Aboard the capsule are Russian Anton Shkaplerov, Nasa's Terry Virts and European Space Agency astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti, Italy's first female astronaut. "I think that 100 years from now, 500 years from now, people will look back on this as the initial baby steps that we took going into the solar system," Virts told a pre-launch press conference. "In the same way that we look back on Columbus and the other explorers 500 years ago, this is the way people will look at this time in history."

Comments

really?

[Chrisq]

"I think that 100 years from now, 500 years from now, people will look back on this as the initial baby steps that we took going into the solar system," Virts told a pre-launch press conference. "In the same way that we look back on Columbus and the other explorers 500 years ago, this is the way people will look at this time in history."

More like the first time someone took a dugout log out to sea, paddled around within sight of shore, then came back again.

Re:Same as Columbus

[itzly]

Without a useful primary purpose of all this "neat space-based stuff", it's a circular argument.

Re:Too expensive

[multisync]

Nations with an actual space program should stop subsidizing these losers

So Russia should stop shuttling US astronauts to and from ISS?

Multi-National Crew

[rossdee]

Isn't that pretty much the rule for the ISS
It is after all the International Space Station