SpaceX Polaris Dawn crew members to carry Ukraine's flag to space in late 2022 mission

Astronauts of SpaceX's Polaris Dawn mission will carry Ukraine's flag to space as a sign of solidarity with the country which is defending itself from Russia for the last two weeks. The four-membered crew, which would be led by billionaire and founder of payments company Shift4 Jared Isaacman, is set to take off in late 2022 under the Polaris programme for a five-day orbital mission. Taking to Twitter, the Polaris mission team said that it stands with the Ukrainians and would take the country's flag far from the 'reach of tyranny'. 

"We stand with Ukraine and its brave citizens and all those fighting for freedom across the world. The Polaris Dawn crew will take this flag to a place in space that still remains beyond the reach of tyranny", the Polaris handle wrote in a tweet. It is worth mentioning that the mission commander Isaacman personally delivered aid to the Ukrainian military in its fight against the Russian army. The billionaire was repaid for his gesture with a Ukrainian flag which would now be taken to outer space, Ukrinform reported. In a Facebook post, Counselor-Envoy of the Embassy of Ukraine in Poland Oleh Kuts wrote, "Jared has personally brought stuff urgently needed by our defenders on the front line. We are grateful for standing firm in support of Ukraine!".

Roscosmos chief irked with Isaacman's contribution

Chief of the Russian space agency Dmitry Rogozin seemed upset over Isaacman's contribution to Ukraine and criticised the same in his tweet. Calling the US billionaire a "fool", Rogozin shared a cutout from media house Ukrinform's article about the former's contribution and wrote, "Someone with a tanker, someone with a canister, someone with a watering can, but all the "American patriots" strive with their gasoline to get close to the all-Ukrainian fire, splash from the heart. This fool is also not sitting at home".  

The Roscosmos chief has been blaming the Western nations for Russia's worsening ties in the space sector and has stated that Russia would now support private space companies for its future missions. 

Image: Twitter/@Polarisprogram