Current Event: Crew-7

There’s a theme among a lot of the advertising in Copenhagen: space! The more you look around, the more you see rockets, space stations, and, of course, Danish flags spread around. It’s not out of nowhere – on August 26^th, Andreas Mogensen took off headed for the space station with SpaceX’s Crew-7 mission. It’s not his first time on the ISS – Morgensen had a 10-day stay in space back in 2015. It is, however, his – and Denmark’s – first extended stay on the station. He’ll also be one of the first non-Americans onboard the Dragon capsule.

Back in the States, and in Russia, space travel is a massive source of national pride. Perhaps it’s waned since the Space Race and the days of the space shuttle, but all the same, nations with the capability to put humans in space remain a limited club. Seeing how Denmark – a nation which, as we’ve learned on this trip, is particularly proud of itself – displays this event is quite interesting. Denmark, of course, relies on being part of ESA for space capabilities – as much as we all hope Copenhagen Suborbitals reaches success, Denmark’s actual space capability remains limited. And yet, as with most countries that see the opportunity, it definitively takes the chance to play up Danish involvement in spaceflight.

It’s also notable that (although this title is quite niche in its appearance) the European section of the mission is named Huggin, after one of Odin’s ravens. It is always interesting to note eagerness to engage with viking history and compare it with the national unwillingness to engage with colonial history.

It's important to recognize that, though its media control has waned since the days of Apollo, spaceflight can wield massive political symbology. Back in March 2022, a trio of Cosmonauts, the first to reach the space station since the start of the war in Ukraine, boarded the space station wearing Ukrainian colors. Despite plausibly denying symbolism, it sure caused quite a stir.

Wattles, Jackie. “SpaceX, NASA Launch Four Astronauts from Four Countries.” CNN, Cable News Network, 26 Aug. 2023, edition.cnn.com/2023/08/26/world/spacex-nasa-crew-7-launch-space-station-scn/index.html. 

“Russian Cosmonauts: Suits Are Not Inspired by Ukrainian Flag.” AP News, AP News, 19 Mar. 2022, apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-business-europe-moscow-fd71ea86a3edf308375fbebd06e64010.