A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the company’s Crew Dragon spacecraft onboard is seen at sunrise on the launch pad at Launch Complex 39A as preparations continue for the Crew-2 mission, Thursday, April 22, 2021, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Thomas Pesquet, and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Akihiko Hoshide are scheduled to launch at 5:49 a.m. EDT on Friday, April 23, 2021. Photo Credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky
Good morning and welcome to live blog coverage of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-2 mission — the second crew rotation flight and the first with two international crew members on a U.S. commercial spacecraft with astronauts to the space station. Launch is scheduled for 5:49 a.m. EDT from the historic Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center.
Here at Kennedy, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, topped by the company’s Crew Dragon spacecraft — named Endeavour by the crew — awaits liftoff early this morning. NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur, along with JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Akihiko Hoshide, and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Thomas Pesquet, will fly to the International Space Station for a six-month science mission.
The countdown is proceeding according to schedule. At the Florida spaceport’s Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building, the astronauts have eaten and will undergo medical checks and get a weather briefing before suiting up.
Stay with us as the countdown continues. We’ll keep you updated on the key milestones throughout this historic mission. Starting at 1:30 a.m. EDT, on NASA Television and the agency’s website, there will be continuous live coverage of important Crew-2 activities.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the company’s Crew Dragon spacecraft onboard is in view on the launch pad at Launch Complex 39A on Tuesday, April 20, 2021, as preparations continue for the Crew-2 mission at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASA’s SpaceX Crew-2 mission is the second crew rotation mission of the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket to the International Space Station as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program. NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Thomas Pesquet, and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Akihiko Hoshide are scheduled to launch at 5:49 a.m. EDT on Friday, April 23, 2021. Photo Credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky
Launch of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-2 mission with astronauts to the International Space Station is on track for Friday, April 23, at 5:49 a.m. EDT. The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with Crew Dragon spacecraft will lift off from Launch Complex 39A at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur, along with JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Akihiko Hoshide, and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Thomas Pesquet will fly to the International Space Station for a six-month science mission. NASA TV coverage of Crew-2 launch preparations and liftoff will begin at 1:30 a.m. Friday, April 23. The Crew Dragon is scheduled to dock to the space station Saturday, April 24, at approximately 5:10 a.m. EDT.
For an April 23 launch, the U.S. Space Force 45th Weather Squadron continues to predict a 90% chance of favorable weather conditions at the launch pad for liftoff based on Falcon 9 Crew Dragon launch weather criteria. The primary weather concerns for the launch area will be flight through precipitation from isolated, low-topped coastal showers and onshore flow. Conditions continue to improve along the flight path and recovery area for the mission.
Today, Thursday, April 22, is Earth Day. To commemorate this day, NASA is hosting Earth Day in Space. Singer-songwriterShawn Mendes will join five astronauts living and working aboard the International Space to discuss how we’re all #ConnectedByEarth, asking questions from young people around the world about Earth Day, climate change and how the astronauts study Earth from space.
The event will feature NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei, who recently arrived to the space station aboard a Soyuz, joining NASA astronauts Mike Hopkins, Victor Glover, Shannon Walker, and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Soichi Noguchi, the Crew-1 team who arrived last November. It will air live on NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agency’s YouTube channel and website at 11 a.m. EDT April 22.
The Crew-1 astronauts are scheduled to depart the space station at 7:05 a.m. Wednesday, April 28. They will participate in their final news conference aboard the microgravity laboratory at 12:30 p.m. EDT Monday, April 26, about their upcoming return to Earth. Media wishing to participate by telephone must call NASA’s Johnson Space Center’s newsroom at 281-483-5111 to RSVP no later than 5 p.m. Friday, April 23. The news conference will air live on NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agency’s website. Those following the briefing on social media may ask questions using #AskNASA.
Crew-1 worked on a number of experiments as part of Expedition 64 to the International Space Station, including tissue chips that mimic the structure and function of human organs to understand the role of microgravity on human health and diseases, and translate those findings to improve human health on Earth. Astronauts also grew radishes in different types of light and soils as part of ongoing efforts to produce food in space and tested a new system to remove heat from spacesuits.
Frank De Winne, manager, International Space Station Program, ESA (European Space Agency) speaks to members of the media during a press conference with, from left, acting NASA Administrator Steve Jurczyk, Hiroshi Sasaki, vice president and director general of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s (JAXA) Human Spaceflight Technology Directorate, NASA astronauts Tracy Caldwell Dyson, and Jasmin Moghbeli, and Kennedy Space Center Director Bob Cabana, ahead of the Crew-2 launch. at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur, ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet, and JAXA astronaut Akihiko Hoshide are scheduled to launch at 5:49 a.m. EDT on Friday, April 23, from Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center. Photo Credit: NASA/Aubrey Gemignani
With the countdown clock and Launch Pad 39A serving as a backdrop, acting NASA Administrator Steve Jurczyk participated in a briefing for the Crew-2 mission at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Wednesday, April 21, at 8:30 a.m. EDT.
The briefing came after Crew-2’s launch was rescheduled to Friday, April 23, at 5:49 a.m. EDT, because of unfavorable weather conditions along the flight path. Although conditions around the launch site were expected to be favorable for a Thursday, April 22, liftoff, mission teams also must consider conditions along the flight path and recovery area in the unlikely event of a launch escape.
“We’re now scheduled for ‘go’ on Friday and the crew is ready,” said Acting NASA Administrator Steve Jurczyk. “I could not be more proud of the Commercial Crew Program, the SpaceX and NASA teams, and what they’ve been able to do to enable reliable, safe, effective transportation to and from space. We are looking forward to a great launch.”
Crew-2 is the second crew rotation flight of a U.S. commercial spacecraft with astronauts to the space station and the first carrying two international crew members. Mission astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur of NASA, along with JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Akihiko Hoshide and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Thomas Pesquet, will head to the International Space Station for a six-month science mission in the Crew Dragon spacecraft, which will launch on the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A.
“On behalf of JAXA, I’d like to express my gratitude to the launch team,” said Hiroshi Sasaki, vice president and director general, JAXA’s Human Spaceflight Technology Directorate. “Last night, I spoke with Akihiko Hoshide, and he is ready for launch. I am excited that two Japanese astronauts – Akihiko Hoshide and Soichi Noguchi – will meet together at the International Space Station. I’m looking forward to the Crew-2 launch and wishing them great success.”
The crew will conduct science and maintenance during their six-month stay aboard the space station and will return no earlier than Oct. 31. Adding more crew members aboard the microgravity laboratory increases the time available for scientific activities. The November 2020 addition of the Crew-1 astronauts more than doubled crew hours spent on science research and support activities, and Crew-2 will continue the important investigations and technology demonstrations that are preparing for future Artemis missions to the Moon, helping us improve our understanding of Earth’s climate, and improving life on our home planet.
An important scientific focus on this expedition is continuing a series of Tissue Chips in Space studies. Tissue chips are small models of human organs containing multiple cell types that behave much the same as they do in the body. Another important element of Crew-2’s mission is augmenting the station’s solar power system by installing the first pair of six new ISS Roll-out Solar Arrays (iROSA).
“It’s an exciting time for us,” said Frank de Winne, manager, International Space Station Program. “We will have much more time to do research, science, but also technology development that we will need for the future of the Artemis program and for the future exploration of our solar system.”
Crew Dragon will deliver more than 500 pounds of cargo, as well as new science hardware and experiments, including CHIME, a university student-led investigation to study possible causes for suppressed immune response in microgravity.
For an April 23 launch, the U.S. Space Force 45th Weather Squadron predicts a 90% chance of favorable weather conditions at the launch pad for liftoff based on Falcon 9 Crew Dragon launch weather criteria. The primary weather concerns for the launch area will be liftoff winds. Conditions also are expected to improve along the flight path and recovery area for the mission.
NASA TV coverage of Crew-2 launch preparations and liftoff will begin at 1:30 a.m. Friday, April 23. The Crew Dragon is scheduled to dock to the space station Saturday, April 24, at approximately 5:10 a.m. EDT.
A SpaceX Crew-2 prelaunch news conference was held at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on April 20, 2021. Participants included, from left to right: Steve Stich, manager, NASA Commercial Crew Program; Joel Montalbano, manager, International Space Station Program; Benji Reed, senior director, Human Spaceflight Programs, SpaceX; Norm Knight, deputy manager, Flight Operations Directorate; Junichi Sakai, manager, International Space Station Program, JAXA; Frank de Winne, manager, International Space Station Program, ESA; Kirt Costello, chief scientist, International Space Station Program; and Brian Cizek, launch weather officer, 45th Weather Squadron, U.S. Space Force. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
During a prelaunch news conference earlier this morning, Wednesday, April 20, mission managers with NASA and SpaceX have confirmed they are proceeding toward April 22 at 6:11 a.m. EDT for the Crew-2 mission that will launch from the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida to the International Space Station.
“We’re ‘go’ for launch,” said Steve Stich, manager of the Commercial Crew Program at Kennedy Space Center. “Both Thursday and Friday launch weather looks good, with concern of winds around the pad for Thursday. Downrange weather is trickier as the front and the winds combine to create winds and waves. Friday looks better than Thursday, but we’ll continue to watch; we have another briefing tomorrow and will decide when the right time to make a decision is.”
Crew-2 mission astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur of NASA, along with JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Akihiko Hoshide, and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Thomas Pesquet will head to the space station for a six-month science mission in the Crew Dragon spacecraft, which will launch on the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A.
“I’m honored to be here, excited to fly crew again, and to do it so quickly,” said Benji Reed, senior director of Human Spaceflight Programs at SpaceX. “In less than a year, we will have flown as many people in this NASA partnership than were flown with the Mercury program. Thanks to our partners NASA, ESA, JAXA, and the families who trust us with their family members.”
Crew-2 is the second crew rotation flight of a U.S. commercial spacecraft with astronauts to the space station and the first carrying two international crew members.
“It’s an exciting time. The crew is doing fine. They’re getting ready for launch,” said Norm Knight, deputy manager for Flight Operations at Johnson Space Center. “These reviews have been very thorough. Safety is number one. We’re looking forward to a very successful mission.”
The U.S. Space Force 45th Weather Squadron predicts an 80% chance of favorable weather conditions for lift off at the launch pad of the Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon based on Falcon 9 Crew Dragon launch weather criteria. The primary weather concerns for the launch area will be liftoff winds. Teams also are monitoring weather conditions downrange for the flight of Crew Dragon.
On Wednesday, April 21, acting NASA Administrator Steve Jurczyk will participate in a briefing at the Countdown Clock at Kennedy Space Center’s News Center at 8:30 a.m. along with the following participants:
Bob Cabana, Kennedy center director
Hiroshi Sasaki, vice president and director general, JAXA’s Human Spaceflight Technology Directorate
Frank de Winne, manager, International Space Station Program, ESA
NASA astronaut, Jasmin Moghbeli
NASA TV coverage of Crew-2 launch preparations and liftoff will begin at 2 a.m. Thursday, April 22. The Crew Dragon is scheduled to dock to the space station Friday, April 23, at approximately 5:30 a.m.
