The SpaceX Crew-4 Dragon arrives at Launch Pad 39A hangar. Photo credit: SpaceX
SpaceX’s brand-new Dragon spacecraft – named “Freedom” by the Crew-4 astronauts – arrived at Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A today, April 16, after making the journey from SpaceX’s processing facility at nearby Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. After Dragon is mated to the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, the launch vehicle will roll out to the pad and be raised to the vertical launch position.
Liftoff is scheduled for 5:26 a.m. EDT Saturday, April 23. NASA’s Crew-4 mission is the fourth crew rotation flight on a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket. NASA astronauts Kjell Lindgren, and Bob Hines will serve as mission commander and pilot, respectively, and NASA astronaut Jessica Watkins and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti, will join as mission specialists.
Steve Stich, manager, Commercial Crew Program at Kennedy Space Center, participates in a Flight Readiness Review for the agency’s SpaceX Crew-4 mission at the Florida spaceport on April 15, 2022. International partners also participated. NASA and SpaceX mission managers held the FRR to confirm the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon spacecraft are ready for launch. Crew-4 is scheduled to launch to the International Space Station from Kennedy’s Launch Complex 39A on April 23, 2022, as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. Liftoff of the Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon spacecraft is targeted for 5:26 a.m. EDT. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
The Flight Readiness Review for NASA’s SpaceX Crew-4 mission to the International Space Station has concluded, and teams are proceeding toward a 5:26 a.m. EDT liftoff on Saturday, April 23, from Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A in Florida. NASA will hold a media conference at approximately 4:30 p.m. EDT to discuss the outcome of the review. Listen live on the agency’s website.
Participants in the teleconference are:
Kathy Lueders, associate administrator, Space Operations Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters, participates in a Flight Readiness Review for the agency’s SpaceX Crew-4 mission at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on April 15, 2022. Photo credit: NASA/Isaac Watson
Kathy Lueders, associate administrator, Space Operations Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters
Steve Stich, manager, Commercial Crew Program, Kennedy
Joel Montalbano, manager, International Space Station, NASA’s Johnson Space Center
Zeb Scoville, chief flight director, Flight Operations Directorate, Johnson
Jared Metter, director, Flight Reliability, SpaceX
Frank De Winne, program manager, International Space Station, ESA
NASA’s SpaceX Crew-4 astronauts participate in a training session at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida late last year. From left, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti, mission specialist; NASA astronaut Kjell Lindgren, commander; NASA astronaut Bob Hines, pilot; and NASA astronaut Jessica Watkins, mission specialist. Photo credit: SpaceX
NASA and SpaceX managers have gathered at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida to start the Crew-4 mission’s Flight Readiness Review (FRR). Over the next several hours, the FRR will focus on the preparedness of SpaceX’s crew transportation system, the International Space Station, and its international partners to support the flight, and the certification of flight readiness.
After the conclusion of the FRR, NASA will hold a media teleconference to discuss the outcome. While the teleconference will not be televised, media may call in to ask questions via phone. Contact the Kennedy newsroom no later than 4 p.m. EDT for connection details.
Participants in the teleconference include:
Kathy Lueders, associate administrator, Space Operations Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters
Steve Stich, manager, Commercial Crew Program, Kennedy
Joel Montalbano, manager, International Space Station, NASA’s Johnson Space Center
Zeb Scoville, chief flight director, Flight Operations Directorate, Johnson
Frank De Winne, program manager, International Space Station, ESA
NASA astronauts Kjell Lindgren, Robert Hines, and Jessica Watkins, and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti will launch on SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon spacecraft for the Crew-4 mission as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. They will arrive at the International Space Station approximately 24 hours after launch. Crew-4 will arrive at station for a short overlap with NASA astronauts Raja Chari, Tom Marshburn, and Kayla Barron, and ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer, who flew to the station as part of the agency’s SpaceX Crew-3 mission in November 2021.
NASA’s SpaceX Crew-4 astronauts participate in a training session at SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, California. From left to right: NASA astronaut and SpaceX Crew-4 mission specialist Jessica Watkins; NASA astronaut and SpaceX Crew-4 pilot Robert “Bob” Hines; NASA astronaut and SpaceX Crew-4 commander Kjell Lindgren; and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut and Crew-4 mission specialist Samantha Cristoforetti of Italy. Photo credit: NASA
The process of flight crew health stabilization is a routine part of final preparations for all missions to the space station. Spending the final two weeks before liftoff in quarantine will help ensure Crew-4 members are healthy and to protect the astronauts already on the space station.
Crew members can choose to quarantine at home if they are able to maintain quarantine conditions prior to travel to Kennedy. If quarantining at home is not possible – for example, if a household member can’t maintain quarantine because of job or school commitments – crew members have the option of living in the Astronaut Quarantine Facility at Johnson Space Center until they leave for Kennedy Space Center.
Additional safeguards have been added since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. Anyone who will come on site or interact with the crew during the quarantine period will be screened for temperature and symptoms. Lindgren, Hines, Watkins, and Cristoforetti will be tested twice for the virus as a precaution, as well as anyone who comes in direct, close contact with the crew.
NASA’s SpaceX Crew-4 mission is the fourth crew rotation flight to the ISS as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. Crew-4 is targeted to launch no earlier than Thursday, April 21, on a new SpaceX Crew Dragon, named Freedom, atop the company’s Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Mission operations teams will be closely monitoring the weather and operational timelines related to the Axiom Mission 1, NASA’s first Private Astronaut Mission to the space station. Additional adjustments to the Crew-4 launch date may be required based on weather and Crew-4 vehicle readiness.
Crew-4 will arrive at the space station for a short overlap with NASA astronauts Raja Chari, Tom Marshburn, and Kayla Barron, and ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer, who flew to the station as part of the agency’s SpaceX Crew-3 mission in November 2021. Also on station are Roscosmos cosmonauts Oleg Artemyev, Denis Matveev, and Sergey Korsakov who flew to the station on a Soyuz spacecraft on March 18, 2022.
More than 700 pieces of art were submitted for the 2022 Commercial Crew Program Children’s International Artwork Contest and a total of 45 entrants were selected as winners. Featured here is the first-place selection in the Rockets, Age 4-6 category, “Ready, Get Set, Go!,” submitted by Vihaan, age 7, from India.
The entries are in for NASA’s Commercial Crew Program (CCP) 2022 International Children’s Artwork Contest, and the artwork we received is out of this world!
The contest – which ran from Nov. 15, 2021 through Jan. 6, 2022 – asked young artists ages 4-12 years old from all around the world to submit unique and original masterpieces featuring NASA themes such as spacecraft, astronauts, rockets, living and working in space, and exploring the solar system. Young artists from 33 countries submitted over 700 works of art! Entries were judged on originality and composition, and a total of 45 entrants were selected including first, second, and third place winners in each theme and age category to have their artwork displayed in Astronaut Crew Quarters at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, where Commercial Crew astronauts quarantine before launching into space.
In addition to the CCP Digital Art Gallery below, the winning entries were also combinedhttps://cms.nasa.gov/feature/commercial-crew-artwork-contest to create three printable posters available for download (optimized for standard printing sized 11″ x 17″).
Please take a look at this year’s winning artwork and celebrate the amazing creativity of these young artists by sharing the Digital Gallery on social media using #NASA #CCPArtContest!
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The CCP art contest began in 2017 to celebrate the creativity and vision of the next generation of space explorers. NASA’s Commercial Crew Program works with American companies to build new rockets and spacecraft for launching astronauts into space, to places like the International Space Station. The spaceships launch from Florida and take astronauts about 250 miles above the surface of Earth to perform experiments that make our lives better and prepare future astronauts for longer missions to places like asteroids and Mars.
Astronaut Tom Marshburn of NASA (center) assists NASA astronaut Raja Chari (from left) and ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer during their U.S. spacesuit fit check.
Two astronauts are getting ready for a spacewalk set to begin on Wednesday at 8:50 a.m. EDT. NASA astronaut Raja Chari and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Matthias Maurer will spend about six-and-a-half hours installing new thermal system and electronics components on the station’s U.S. segment. The duo spent Monday organizing their spacewalk tools and attaching checklists to their U.S. spacesuit cuffs. NASA TV will begin its live spacewalk coverage at 7:30 a.m. on Wednesday.
NASA Flight Engineers Mark Vande Hei and Kayla Barron were on science duty yesterday working on a pair of different experiments. Vande Hei explored how microbes grow in space to keeps crews healthy and spacecraft systems safe. Barron serviced samples for the Hicari crystal growth study that seeks to improve the development of solar cells and semiconductor-based electronics.
NASA astronaut Tom Marshburn spent the day on a variety of orbital plumbing and life support maintenance tasks. He also joined Chari for a conference with mission controllers as they plan to return to Earth with Barron and Maurer aboard the SpaceX Crew Dragon Endurance next month.
NASA astronaut Kayla Barron works inside the Life Science Glovebox conducting botany research for the Plant Habitat-05 investigation.
Flight Engineers Kayla Barron and Raja Chari worked throughout Friday, March 11, preparing for a six-and-a-half hour spacewalk scheduled for 8:05 a.m. EDT on Tuesday, March 15. Barron and Chari checked out spacesuit emergency jet packs and other suit components including lights, cameras, and data recorders. They also configured a host of tools inside the U.S. Quest airlock they will use during their external maintenance job. The pair on Tuesday will install modification kits on the Starboard-4 truss structure that will ready the space station for its third roll-out solar array. NASA TV begins its live spacewalk broadcast on Tuesday at 6:30 a.m.
Astronauts Mark Vande Hei of NASA and Matthias Maurer of ESA (European Space Agency) took turns installing combustion science hardware in the Kibo laboratory module at the end of last week. Vande Hei later serviced samples for the Space Biofilms study that seeks to prevent molds from growing and impacting spacecraft systems and crew health. NASA Flight Engineer Tom Marshburn worked in the U.S. Destiny laboratory module servicing gear supporting a fire safety study that could inform future spacecraft designs.
NASA spacewalker Kayla Barron is pictured during a six-hour and 32 minute spacewalk on Dec. 2, 2021, to replace a failed antenna system on the International Space Station’s Port-1 truss structure. Photo credit: NASA
Crew members from International Space Station Expedition 66 will conduct two spacewalks Tuesday, March 15, and Wednesday, March 23, to continue upgrades to the orbiting laboratory.
NASA will discuss the upcoming spacewalks during a news conference at 2 p.m. EDT Monday, March 14. Live coverage of the news conference and spacewalks will air on NASA Television, the agency’s website, and the NASA app.
News conference participants are:
Joel Montalbano, manager, NASA International Space Station program
Dina Contella, operations integration manager, NASA International Space Station program
Mike Lammers, March 15 spacewalk flight director
Sandra Moore, March 15 spacewalk officer
Paul Konyha, March 23 spacewalk flight director
Sandra Fletcher, March 23 spacewalk officer
Media wishing to participate in the briefings in person must request credentials from the Johnson newsroom at: 281-483-5111 or jsccommu@mail.nasa.gov no later than noon Friday, March 11. Media interested in participating by phone must contact the Johnson newsroom by noon Monday, March 14. Those wanting to submit a question on social media may do so using #askNASA.
Coverage will begin at 6:30 a.m. for the Tuesday, March 15, spacewalk, which will begin around 8:05 a.m. Coverage will begin at 7:30 a.m. for the Wednesday, March 23, spacewalk, which will be begin around 8:50 a.m. Both spacewalks will last approximately 6 hours, 30 minutes.
NASA Flight Engineers Kayla Barron and Raja Chari will conduct the Tuesday, March 15, spacewalk, designated U.S. EVA 79, assembling and installing modification kits required for upcoming solar array upgrades. The pair will install brackets and struts to support the future installation of an ISS Roll-Out Solar Array (iROSA). So far, two of six iROSAs have been deployed on station with four additional arrays to be delivered. The arrays will ultimately augment six of the station’s eight power channels, increasing the station’s total available power from 160 kilowatts to up to 215 kilowatts.
Barron will serve as extravehicular crewmember 1 (EV 1) and will wear a suit with red stripes. Chari will serve as extravehicular crewmember 2 (EV 2) and will wear a suit with no stripes. The spacewalk will be the second of Barron’s career and the first for Chari.
For the Wednesday, March 23, spacewalk, designated U.S. EVA 80, two astronauts will install hoses on a Radiator Beam Valve Module that routes ammonia through the station’s heat-rejecting radiators to keep systems at the proper temperature. The crew members will also install a power and data cable on the Columbus module’s Bartolomeo science platform, replace an external camera on the station’s truss, and conduct other upgrades to station hardware.
Astronaut roles for the Wednesday, March 23, spacewalk will be confirmed after the first spacewalk is completed.
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For more information about the International Space Station, its research, and crew, visit: https://www.nasa.gov/station.
NASA astronaut Raja Chari works on a biotechnology study that may advance technologies for use in space and in extreme environments on Earth.
On March 8, three astronauts worked throughout the day continuing to research how living in space affects eye structure and visual function. NASA Flight Engineers Raja Chari and Kayla Barron were assisted by ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Matthias Maurer in the Kibo laboratory module to help doctors understand why some astronauts have reported vision issues in microgravity and after returning to Earth. Results may help doctors develop treatments for eye conditions experienced by astronauts and Earthlings.
Meanwhile, NASA Flight Engineer Tom Marshburn spent the day working in the Tranquility module servicing the COLBERT treadmill. He started with a visual inspection before aligning components on the exercise device to ensure it remained centered inside Tranquility. COLBERT was delivered to the orbital lab over 12 years ago aboard space shuttle Discovery.
NASA’s SpaceX Crew-4 astronauts participate in a training session at SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, CA. From left to right: NASA astronaut and SpaceX Crew-4 mission specialist Jessica Watkins; NASA astronaut and SpaceX Crew-4 pilot Robert “Bob” Hines; NASA astronaut and SpaceX Crew-4 commander Kjell Lindgren; and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut and Crew-4 mission specialist Samantha Cristoforetti of Italy. Photo credit: SpaceX
NASA’s SpaceX Crew-4 team – consisting of NASA astronauts Kjell Lindgren, Bob Hines, Jessica Watkins, and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti – have been busy getting ready for their upcoming mission to the International Space Station. The mission is scheduled to launch Friday, April 15, from Launch Complex 39A at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
NASA’s SpaceX Crew-4 astronauts – NASA astronaut and Crew-4 pilot Bob Hines (left), and NASA astronaut and Crew-4 commander Kjell Lindgren (right) – participate in a training session at SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, CA. Photo credit: SpaceX
During recent training at SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, California, the crew participated in simulations focused on undocking and departing from the space station. All four astronauts practiced in a high-fidelity simulator of SpaceX’s Dragon capsule, complete with flight-realistic hardware, displays, and seats. Each astronaut gained experience suiting up and configuring the spacecraft for departure. Commander Lindgren and pilot Hines took their places in the center seats, with access to flight displays they’ll use to monitor the spacecraft’s status and, if needed, take manual control of the spacecraft.
Astronaut crews regularly train for all phases of flight, using simulations to practice normal operations and respond to any unexpected issues. These simulations typically include multiple “runs” for a given day, with crew and flight controllers practicing a specific phase of the mission. Using simulated data to train personnel, simulations introduce system failures and other challenges to give teams the opportunity to prepare for and understand potential anomalies that could arise during a spaceflight, all while arming the crew with the skills needed for effectively overcoming these challenges.
NASA’s SpaceX Crew-4 astronauts train at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. From left to right: ESA astronaut and Crew-4 mission specialist Samantha Cristoforetti of Italy; NASA astronaut and SpaceX Crew-4 commander Kjell Lindgren; NASA astronaut and SpaceX Crew-4 pilot Robert “Bob” Hines; and NASA astronaut and SpaceX Crew-4 mission specialist Jessica Watkins. Photo credit: SpaceX
While at Kennedy Space Center for emergency preparedness training, the crew visited the launch tower at Launch Complex 39A and trained on the emergency egress system, which employs slide wire baskets that enable crew and personnel to safely and quickly evacuate from the launch tower in the event of an emergency.
To become more familiar with recovery operations, the astronauts found their sea legs aboard SpaceX’s Dragon recovery vessels that will be used by joint SpaceX and NASA teams to pick up the crew following splashdown at the end of their mission. Two identical vessels cover potential landing zones off of the coast of Florida. The astronauts also toured one of SpaceX’s hangars where Falcon 9 rockets are refurbished and prepared for flight.
The crew is scheduled for a science expedition aboard the International Space Station, living and working as part of orbiting laboratory’s Expeditions 67 and 68. Crew-4 will be the fourth crew rotation mission with SpaceX, and fifth crewed flight overall including the Demo-2 flight test, for NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.
