The Flight Readiness Review (FRR) for NASA’s SpaceX Crew-1 mission to the International Space Station has concluded, and teams are proceeding toward a planned lift off at 7:49 p.m. EST Saturday, Nov. 14 from Launch Complex 39A at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASA will hold a media teleconference at 3:30 p.m. EST to discuss the outcome of the review. Listen live on NASA’s website.
Participants in the teleconference are:
Kathy Lueders, associate administrator, Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters
Steve Stich, manager, Commercial Crew Program, NASA’s Kennedy Space Center
Joel Montalbano, manager, International Space Station, NASA’s Johnson Space Center
Norm Knight, deputy manager, Flight Operations Directorate, Johnson
Benji Reed, senior director, Human Spaceflight Programs, SpaceX
Junichi Sakai, manager, International Space Station Program, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)
Randy Repcheck, director (acting), Operational Safety, Federal Aviation Administration
A crew arrival event for NASA’s SpaceX Crew-1 mission is held Nov. 8, 2020, at the Launch and Landing Facility at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. From left are NASA astronaut Shannon Walker, mission specialist; NASA astronaut Victor Glover, pilot; Junichi Sakai, manager, International Space Station Program, JAXA; NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine; NASA Deputy Administrator Jim Morhard; Bob Cabana, director, Kennedy Space Center; NASA astronaut Michael Hopkins, spacecraft commander; and JAXA astronaut Soichi Noguchi, mission specialist. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
The astronauts that will soon launch to the International Space Station as part of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-1 mission arrived today at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida to start final preparations for liftoff.
NASA astronauts Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover, and Shannon Walker, along with Soichi Noguchi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), landed via plane at the Launch and Landing Facility at Kennedy after departing earlier today from Ellington Field near the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.
“On behalf of the crew of Resilience, on behalf of our families, we want to say a big ‘thank you’ to all of the people at SpaceX, at NASA, and in the (Department of Defense) who have been working tirelessly to get us to this point. It’s really been an incredible effort by an incredible group of people,” said Hopkins, who will serve as the mission’s commander. “As for the crew: we’re ready.”
NASA and JAXA leadership also greeted the Crew-1 astronauts at arrival to the launch site for a brief welcome ceremony.
“Today we are taking another big leap in this transformation in how we do human spaceflight. What we’re talking about here is the commercialization of space. NASA is one customer of many customers in a very robust commercial marketplace in low-Earth orbit,” NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said. “We’re transitioning from test flights to operational flights. Make no mistake, every flight is a test flight when it comes to space travel, but it’s also true that we need to routinely be able to go to the International Space Station.”
The astronauts are scheduled to lift off at 7:49 p.m. EST Saturday, Nov. 14, aboard a SpaceX Crew 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.
“It is really exciting; I can’t tell you how great it is to be able to welcome a crew here to go to space again. I envy each and every one of you,” said Kennedy Space Center Director Bob Cabana. “This whole effort to commercialize low-Earth orbit – this is just a giant step in making that happen.”
Crew-1 also will launch the first international crew to fly on the new, commercial system developed in a partnership between NASA and SpaceX.
“I believe the Crew-1 mission opens up a new era of low-Earth orbit commercialization,” said Junichi Sakai, manager of JAXA’s International Space Station Program. “I’m honored to be able to witness this great event, and I’m proud that a Japanese astronaut, Dr. Noguchi, is carrying responsibility as a member of this event.”
On Monday, Nov. 9, NASA and SpaceX managers will begin a flight readiness review at Kennedy to determine whether the Crew Dragon and its systems are ready for the mission. A media teleconference conference will be held approximately one hour after the review concludes.
Also, tune in to NASA Television or the agency’s website at 1:15 p.m. EST the same day for a Virtual Crew Media Engagement at Kennedy with the Crew-1 astronauts who will go live from the Astronaut Crew Quarters inside Kennedy’s Neil Armstrong Operations & Checkout Building.
The SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft for NASA’s SpaceX Crew-1 mission arrived at Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A on Thursday, Nov. 5, after making the trek from its processing facility at nearby Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Photo credit: SpaceX
SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft arrived at Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A on Thursday, Nov. 5, after making the trek from its processing facility at nearby Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.
A few days from now, SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket, topped by Crew Dragon, will be raised to a vertical position at the pad. Crew-1 astronauts Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover, and Shannon Walker of NASA, along with Soichi Noguchi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), will fly from their home base at the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston to the Florida spaceport on Sunday, Nov. 8.
Pilot Victor Glover, spacecraft commander Michael Hopkins, mission specialist Soichi Noguchi, and mission specialist Shannon Walker participate in a SpaceX training exercise on July 22, 2020, at Kennedy. Photo credit: SpaceX
The schedule calls for the astronauts to depart from Ellington Field near Johnson and fly to Kennedy aboard a charter plane. They’re expected to arrive at Kennedy’s Launch and Landing Facility on Sunday afternoon. NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine and Deputy Administrator Jim Morhard, Center Director Bob Cabana, and Junichi Sakai, manager of JAXA’s International Space Station Program, will greet the crew, followed by a media event at the runway that will broadcast live on NASA Television and the agency’s website, weather permitting.
For NASA’s SpaceX Crew-1 mission, Hopkins, Glover, Walker, and Noguchi will launch to the International Space Station aboard Crew Dragon, powered by the Falcon 9. Liftoff from Launch Complex 39A is targeted for 7:49 p.m. EST Saturday, Nov. 14.
After launch, the spacecraft, which the Crew-1 astronauts named Resilience, will perform a series of maneuvers, culminating with rendezvous and docking with the space station. Upon their arrival aboard, the Crew-1 astronauts will become members of Expedition 64, joining NASA astronaut Kate Rubins, as well as Expedition 64 commander Sergey Ryzhikov and flight engineer Sergey Kud-Sverchkov, both of the Russian space agency Roscosmos.
The Crew-1 mission is a major step for NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. Operational, long-duration commercial crew rotation missions will enable NASA to continue the important research and technology investigations taking place onboard the station.
The SpaceX Crew-1 crew members (from left) NASA astronauts Shannon Walker, Victor Glover, Mike Hopkins, and JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Soichi Noguchi. Credits: SpaceX
NASA astronauts Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover, and Shannon Walker, along with Soichi Noguchi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), entered their official quarantine period beginning Saturday, Oct. 31, in preparation for their flight to the International Space Station on NASA’s SpaceX Crew-1 mission. They will lift off at 7:49 p.m. EST Saturday, Nov. 14 aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon carried by the company’s Falcon 9 rocket from the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Pilot Victor Glover, spacecraft commander Michael Hopkins, mission specialist Soichi Noguchi, and mission specialist Shannon Walker participate in a SpaceX training exercise on July 22, 2020, at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida in preparation for NASA’s SpaceX Crew-1 mission. Photo credit: SpaceX
For crews preparing to launch, “flight crew health stabilization” is a routine part of the final preparations for all missions to the space station. Spending the final two weeks before liftoff in quarantine will help ensure the Crew-1 crew is healthy, protecting themselves and the astronauts already on the space station.
If they are able to maintain quarantine conditions at home, crew members can choose to quarantine from there until they travel to Kennedy. If they are unable to maintain quarantine conditions at home — for example, if a household member can’t maintain quarantine because of job or school requirements — they have the option of living in the Astronaut Quarantine Facility at Johnson Space Center until they leave for Kennedy.
Some additional safeguards have been added because of the coronavirus. Anyone who will come on site or interact with the crew during the quarantine period, as well as any VIPs, will be screened for temperature and symptoms. Hopkins, Glover, Walker, and Noguchi, as well as those in direct, close contact with the crew, will be tested twice for the virus as a precaution.
Crew-1 astronauts will become the first crew to fly a full-duration mission to the space station on Crew Dragon for a six-month stay on the orbiting laboratory. They are scheduled to arrive at the space station Sunday, Nov. 15, to join NASA astronaut Kate Rubins, as well as Expedition 64 commander Sergey Ryzhikov and flight engineer Sergey Kud-Sverchkov, cosmonauts of the Russian space agency Roscosmos.
For the first time, the space station’s long-duration crew will expand to seven people with Expedition 64, increasing the amount of crew time available for research.
Mission specialist Shannon Walker, left, pilot Victor Glover, Crew Dragon commander Michael Hopkins – all NASA astronauts – and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut and mission specialist Soichi Noguchi, right, will launch to the International Space Station on the agency’s SpaceX Crew-1 mission.
NASA will provide coverage of the upcoming prelaunch and launch activities for the agency’s SpaceX Crew-1 mission with astronauts to the International Space Station. This is the first crew rotation flight of the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft on a Falcon 9 rocket following certification by NASA for regular flights to the space station as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program.
The launch is targeted for 7:49 p.m. EST Saturday, Nov. 14, from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The Crew Dragon is scheduled to dock to the space station at 4:20 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 15. Launch, prelaunch activities, and docking will air live on NASA Television and the agency’s website.
The Crew-1 flight will carry Crew Dragon Commander Michael Hopkins, Pilot Victor Glover, and Mission Specialist Shannon Walker, all of NASA, along with Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) Mission Specialist Soichi Noguchi to the space station for a six-month science mission.
The Flight Readiness Review (FRR) for NASA’s SpaceX Crew-1 mission to the International Space Station has concluded, and teams are proceeding toward a planned lift off at 7:49 p.m. EST Saturday, Nov. 14 from Launch Complex 39A at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASA will hold a media teleconference at 3:30 p.m. EST to discuss the outcome of the review. Listen live on NASA’s website.
Crew-1 astronauts will become the first crew to fly a full-duration mission to the space station on Crew Dragon for a six-month stay on the orbiting laboratory. They are scheduled to arrive at the space station Sunday, Nov. 15, to join NASA astronaut Kate Rubins, as well as Expedition 64 commander Sergey Ryzhikov and flight engineer Sergey Kud-Sverchkov, cosmonauts of the Russian space agency Roscosmos.