SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft, named Endurance, atop the company’s Falcon 9 rocket, stands tall at the pad at Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Monday, Aug. 21, 2023. NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Andreas Mogensen, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Satoshi Furukawa, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov, who arrived at Kennedy on Sunday, Aug. 20, 2023, will fly to the International Space Station on NASA’s SpaceX Crew-7 mission. Photo credit: SpaceX
NASA and SpaceX are targeting 3:27 a.m. EDT Saturday, Aug. 26, for launch of the agency’s Crew-7 mission to the International Space Station.
Mission managers met on Thursday to discuss the status toward final readiness for a Friday launch opportunity. After performing an extra data review, teams decided to take additional time to reconfirm required factors of safety and operational margin on one of the Dragon spacecraft’s environmental control and life support system (ECLSS) components. The new launch date provides teams additional time to complete the analysis and thoroughly review the necessary data ahead of launch. All ECLSS valves on the Crew-7 and Crew-6 Dragon spacecraft are performing normally, and performed as expected in all preflight testing. Safety continues to be the team’s top priority. The Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft remain healthy as teams complete and discuss the final results of this additional analysis, and the crew is ready to fly when the entire team is ready.
For a launch on Saturday, the U.S. Space Force 45th Weather Squadron predicts a 95% chance of favorable weather conditions at the launch pad for liftoff based on Falcon 9 Crew Dragon launch weather criteria.
The Dragon spacecraft carrying NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli, commander; ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Andreas Mogensen, pilot; and mission specialists JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Satoshi Furukawa, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov will launch atop the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
The Dragon spacecraft, named Endurance, is scheduled to dock to the space station at 8:50 a.m. Sunday, Aug. 27.
Live coverage of Crew-7 activities begins at 11:30 p.m., Friday, Aug. 25, on NASA Television and the agency’s website. Follow along for details about the mission and NASA’s Commercial Crew Program on the Crew-7 blog, the commercial crew blog,@commercial_crew on X, and commercial crew on Facebook.
NASA’s SpaceX Crew-7 crew members are photographed in the Dragon Endurance spacecraft during a dry dress rehearsal at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Aug. 22, 2023. From left are Roscosmos cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Andreas Mogensen, NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli, and JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Satoshi Furukawa. Photo credit: SpaceX
NASA, SpaceX, and international partners have completed the launch readiness review for the agency’s Crew-7 mission to the International Space Station. Crew-7 managers gathered at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 9 p.m. EDT Wednesday to review the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft readiness and decided launch is “Go” for liftoff to the space station. Launch now is targeted for 3:50 a.m. EDT Friday, Aug. 25, from Kennedy’s Launch Complex 39A. If needed, a backup launch opportunity is available at 3:27 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 26.
On Wednesday, rocket and ground systems engineering teams completed the detailed data reviews following the integrated static fire of the Falcon 9 rocket conducted the day before at Launch Complex 39A. Falcon 9 performance was normal, resulting in a successful full duration static fire of all nine Merlin first-stage engines.
Operations teams are not tracking any major issues with Falcon 9 or the Dragon spacecraft. NASA and SpaceX spent Wednesday working toward final launch readiness, with remaining work expected to be completed ahead of launch.
The International Space Station Program is monitoring the potential need for a debris avoidance maneuver early afternoon Thursday, Aug. 24, for the orbital outpost. Space station mission control trajectory teams are tracking the debris and determining whether a short duration burn of the station’s thrusters would be required. If needed, the maneuver is not expected to impact the planned arrival of the Roscosmos ISS Progress cargo spacecraft also on Thursday. More information will be provided as orbital trajectory teams review the data and determine whether the debris would fly in the vicinity of the space station requiring a change in station’s altitude.
NASA’s SpaceX Crew-7 crew members arrive at Launch Complex 39A during a dry dress rehearsal at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Aug. 22, 2023. Photo credit: SpaceX
On Tuesday, Crew-7 NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli, commander; ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Andreas Mogensen, pilot; and mission specialists JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Satoshi Furukawa, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov participated in a rehearsal of launch day activities in preparation for the upcoming Crew-7 launch.
Rehearsal began with launch teams assisting Crew-7 crewmates into their SpaceX spacesuits inside the Astronaut Crew Quarters at Kennedy’s Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building – just as they will on launch day. Next, the crew took the elevator down to the ground floor and exited the building’s double doors, where Tesla Model X vehicles were waiting to drive them the short distance to the launch site.
After they arrived at the launch pad, Moghbeli, Mogensen, Furukawa, and Borisov rode the launch tower’s elevator up to the crew access arm – the walkway they will use to enter Dragon, named Endurance. Once securely seated inside, the crew members checked their communications systems and performed seat rotation and suit leak checks. The rehearsal concluded with closure of the spacecraft’s side hatch, which normally occurs about one hour and 25 minutes before liftoff.
Forecasters with Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s 45th Weather Squadron predict a 90% chance of favorable weather conditions for launch, with the cumulus cloud rule serving as the primary weather concern.
Starting at 11:45 p.m. EDT Thursday, Aug. 24, the live broadcast of the mission – including liftoff and postlaunch milestones – will air on NASA Television and the agency’s website. Check the Crew-7 blog starting at 11 p.m., for key events leading up to launch and through spacecraft separation.
We’ll keep you updated on the key milestones throughout this mission. Details about the mission and NASA’s Commercial Crew Program can be found by following the Crew-7 blog, the commercial crew blog, @commercial_crew on X, and commercial crew on Facebook.
Crew members for NASA’s SpaceX Crew-7 mission to the International Space Station arrive at the Launch and Landing Facility at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Sunday, Aug. 20, 2023. NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Andreas Mogensen, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Satoshi Furukawa, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov will launch aboard SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket. Liftoff is targeted for 3:49 a.m. EDT Friday, Aug. 25, 2023, from Kennedy’s Launch Complex 39A.
The crew that will soon launch to the International Space Station as part of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-7 mission arrived Sunday at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida to start final preparations for liftoff.
Crew members NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli, commander; ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Andreas Mogensen, pilot; and mission specialists JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Satoshi Furukawa, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov, landed via Gulfstream jet aircraft at the Launch and Landing Facility at Kennedy after departing from Ellington Field near the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.
The flight crew will be greeted at arrival by leaders from NASA, JAXA, and ESA.
A media event is scheduled about 12:15 p.m. EDT with the following participants:
Bill Nelson, administrator, NASA
Bob Cabana, associate administrator, NASA
Janet Petro, director, NASA Kennedy
Dana Hutcherson, deputy manager, Commercial Crew Program
Eric van der Wal, lead, International Space Station Program Houston Office, ESA
Junichi Sakai, program manager, International Space Station, JAXA
NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli, spacecraft commander
Roscosmos cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov, mission specialist
The event is scheduled to broadcast live, if weather permits, on NASA Television and the agency’s website. No teleconference option is available for this event.
Crew members are scheduled to lift off at 3:49 a.m. EDT Friday, Aug. 25, aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft carried by a Falcon 9 rocket for a full duration mission to the space station as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program (CCP).
This is the seventh crew rotation flight and the eighth human spaceflight mission on SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft to the International Space Station for CCP. Details about the mission and NASA’s Commercial Crew Program can be found by following the Crew-7 blog, the commercial crew blog, @commercial_crew on X, and commercial crew on Facebook.
Crew-7 astronauts pose in front of their SpaceX Dragon spacecraft recently at the company’s Hawthorne, California, headquarters. The mission to the International Space Station is targeted for launch on Aug. 25 from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Photo credit: SpaceX
The target launch date for NASA’s SpaceX Crew-7 mission to the International Space Station now is 3:49 a.m. EDT Friday, Aug. 25. Additional time was required for teams to complete pad readiness after SpaceX’s recent Falcon Heavy mission lifted off from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The adjustment also takes advantage of consecutive launch opportunities and deconflicts the station’s cargo spacecraft traffic schedule.
NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Andreas Mogensen, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Satoshi Furukawa, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov will launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket aboard the company’s Dragon spacecraft.
Crew-7 is scheduled to dock to the orbiting laboratory about 2:45 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 26, to the space-facing port of the station’s Harmony module. If needed, Crew-7 has additional launch opportunities on Saturday, Aug. 26 and Sunday, Aug. 27.
Follow NASA’s commercial crew blog for the latest information on Crew-7 flight readiness.
JAXA (Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Satoshi Furukawa was named a mission specialist for NASA’s SpaceX Crew-7 mission. Photo credit: NASA
Astronaut Satoshi Furukawa from JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) has been selected as a mission specialist for NASA’s SpaceX Crew-7 mission – the agency’s seventh rotational mission to the International Space Station.
Furukawa joins NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Andreas Mogensen, who will serve as spacecraft commander and pilot, respectively. An additional crew member will be assigned at a later date.
Furukawa spent 165 days aboard the orbiting laboratory in 2011 as a flight engineer with Expeditions 28 and 29. As part of his duties, he helped support the final space shuttle mission, STS-135.
This will be the first spaceflight for Moghbeli, who became a NASA astronaut in 2017, and the first long-duration mission for Mogensen. He previously served as a flight engineer on a 10-day mission to the space station in 2015. Crew-7 will be his second trip to space.
NASA and SpaceX are targeting no earlier than mid-August for the launch of Crew-7, aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The four astronauts will join an expedition crew aboard the space station.
For more insight on NASA’s Commercial Crew Program missions to the orbiting laboratory, follow the commercial crew blog. More details can be found @commercial_crew on Twitter and commercial crew on Facebook.
NASA’s SpaceX Crew-6 crew members Stephen Bowen, Woody Hoburg, Sultan Alneyadi, and Andrey Fedyaev blast off from Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A in Florida at 12:34 a.m. EST Thursday, March 2, 2023. Photo credit: NASA/Frank Michaux
The SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft Endeavour, carrying NASA astronauts Stephen Bowen, commander; Woody Hoburg, pilot; and mission specialists UAE (United Arab Emirates) astronaut Sultan Alneyadi and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev to the International Space Station, has safely reached orbit, and the nosecone has been opened.
At 2:30 a.m. EST, NASA will host a postlaunch news conference from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The event will be broadcast live on NASA TV and the agency’s website. Participants in the briefing will be:
Kathy Lueders, associate administrator, Space Operations Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters in Washington
Steve Stich, manager, Commercial Crew Program, Kennedy
Dina Contella, operations integration manager, International Space Station Program, NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston
Benji Reed, senior director, Human Spaceflight Program, SpaceX
Salem AlMarri, director general, Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre
Crew-6 will dock at the space station at approximately 1:17 a.m. EST on Friday, March 3. Live coverage on NASA TV resumes at 11:30 p.m. EST on March 2 and continues through spacecraft docking, hatch opening (2:55 a.m.), and the welcome ceremony (3:40 a.m.) at the microgravity laboratory.
Approximately eight minutes after lifting off from Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A in Florida at 12:34 a.m. EST on March 2, 2023, Stage 1 of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket comes in for a landing on the company’s drone ship, Just Read the Instructions. Photo credit: NASA
Stage 1 of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket completed its descent and successfully landed on SpaceX’s drone ship, Just Read the Instructions, off the coast of Florida.
