Sławosz Uznański for WNP on preparations for the launch [VIDEO]

- Mountain hiking is about going further than most people want, seeing something new. Science is a fairly similar field for me: reaching a certain limit and pushing it a little further yourself - said Dr. Sławosz Uznański, a member of the European Astronaut Corps, during the European Economic Congress in 2023.

The second Pole will finally get a flight into space

Dr. Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski is scheduled to fly today with the Ax-4 space mission.

The flight was originally planned for May 29. Then, official announcements gave the dates of June 8, 10, 11, 19 and 22. The seventh possible date is June 25 - at 8:31 AM Polish time (2:31 AM local time in Florida, USA). The launch is to take place from Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket will carry a Dragon capsule with a four-person crew into orbit.

In 2023, when Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski visited the WNP studio at the European Economic Congress, the Polish astronaut was only in the so-called reserve team for launch. As a member of the elite, 17-person European Astronaut Corps, he was then selected from among 22.5 thousand candidates and was waiting to be qualified for the basic crew.

He then told us, among other things, about his passions and scientific work, the details of the lunar program, the need for habitats and the great opportunities for the Polish space industry.

Watch the archived conversation with Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski from 2023.

Today, an astronaut can be a scientist, engineer, doctor, biotechnologist, chemist...

When you want to be a priest, you study theology and go to seminary, and when you want to be a doctor, you go to medical school. And how do you educate yourself to become an astronaut?

Dr. Sławosz Uznański pointed out that the traditional, very typical path of an astronaut career – that of military pilots – is only one of the possible paths. Today, an astronaut can be a scientist, an engineer who, for example, creates electronic or satellite technology, a doctor, a biotechnologist, a chemist…

One thing is certain: you have to be good at what you do, and then meet certain criteria to get into the astronaut program – in Sławosz Uznański's case, through the recruiting European Space Agency.

- I have always really liked the "exploratory" side of life - hiking, sailing (I was in the Polish national team). I still climb a lot... It's about going further than most people want, seeing something new. Science is a quite similar field for me: reaching a certain limit and pushing it a little further yourself - Sławosz Uznański told us.