SpaceX launches crew of four to the International Space Station
23 April 2021
Four astronauts took flight to the International Space Station aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon early Friday morning.
The big picture: This marks the third time SpaceX has launched people to space for NASA, helping the space agency end its reliance on Russia's Soyuz spacecraft and rocket for trips to the space station.
The state of play: NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur, Japanese astronaut Akihiko Hoshide and the European Space Agency's Thomas Pesquet lifted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida at 5:49 a.m. ET Friday.
- The four crewmembers are now flying through space on their way to catch up to and dock with the station.
- They are expected to dock at 5:10 a.m. ET Saturday, with the hatch opening a couple hours later.
- You can watch a live broadcast of their trip through space via NASA TV, which is expected to air continuous coverage through docking.
What's next: Once the astronauts arrive on the space station, they will join seven other astronauts and cosmonauts already onboard.
- Four of the crewmembers are due to fly back to Earth next week.
Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times
Section2Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.
Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.
The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.
- The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.
What the transcripts say:
- Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
- The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
- Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."
Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.