Category: Kennedy Space Center

The astronauts who will fly on NASA’s SpaceX Crew-3 mission to the International Space Station are now on their way to the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, where they will begin final preparations for launch.

NASA astronauts Raja Chari, Tom Marshburn, and Kayla Barron, along with ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Matthias Maurer, boarded a Gulfstream jet aircraft and departed from Ellington Field near the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston for the short flight to Florida. The crew is expected to arrive at the Launch and Landing Facility at Kennedy later this afternoon.

Crew-3 astronauts will be greeted upon their arrival by Kennedy Center Director Janet Petro along with NASA Associate Administrator Bob Cabana and ESA International Space Station Program Manager Frank de Winne. Coverage will begin at approximately 2:30 p.m. EDT, and will include welcome remarks, crew comments, and a brief question and answer session with attending news media. The event will be broadcast live on NASA TV and the agency’s website, weather permitting.

The SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft that will carry NASA astronauts Raja Chari, Tom Marshburn, and Kayla Barron, as well as ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Matthias Maurer to the International Space Station is now at Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A in Florida. The capsule, named Endurance by the crew, arrived at the launch complex on Oct. 24 after making the short journey from its nearby processing facility at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

Liftoff of the Crew Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket is scheduled for 2:21 a.m. EDT on Oct. 31 from Kennedy’s Launch Complex 39A. Chari, Marshburn, Barron, and Maurer will arrive at the space station the following day, Nov.1, for a six-month science mission. The Crew-3 astronauts will have a short overlap with the astronauts who flew to the station as part of the agency’s SpaceX Crew-2 mission. Return of NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur, along with JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Akihiko Hoshide and ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet, is planned for early November. A splashdown at one of seven landing zones off the coast of Florida will mark the completion of the Crew-2 mission.

Crew-3 is the third crew rotation flight for the agency’s Commercial Crew Program, and the first flight of a new Crew Dragon spacecraft. More details about the mission and the Commercial Crew Program can be found in the online press kit, or by following the commercial crew blog, @commercial_crew, and commercial crew on Facebook.

NASA and SpaceX managers are gathered at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, where they have started the Crew-3 mission’s Flight Readiness Review (FRR). The review primarily focuses on the preparedness of SpaceX’s crew transportation system, the International Space Station, and its international partners to support the flight and certification of flight readiness.

NASA will hold a media teleconference later today, about one hour after the FRR concludes, 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. for connection details.

Participants in the teleconference will include:

• Kathy Lueders, associate administrator, Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters
• Steve Stich, manager, Commercial Crew Program, Kennedy
• Joel Montalbano, manager, International Space Station, NASA’s Johnson Space Center
• Holly Ridings, chief flight director, Flight Operations Directorate, Johnson
• William Gerstenmaier, vice president, Build and Flight Reliability, SpaceX
• Junichi Sakai, manager, International Space Station, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
• Frank de Winne, manager, International Space Station, European Space Agency (ESA)

NASA astronauts Raja Chari, Tom Marshburn, and Kayla Barron, as well as ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer, will launch on SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon spacecraft for the Crew-3 mission as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. The crew of four will arrive at the International Space Station approximately 22 hours after launch for a six-month science mission. Liftoff is scheduled for 2:21 a.m. on Sunday, Oct. 31, from Kennedy’s Launch Complex 39A.

NASA and SpaceX now are targeting 2:21 a.m. EDT Sunday, Oct. 31, for the agency’s Crew-3 launch to the International Space Station to allow additional time for spacecraft processing. The backup launch time and date is 1:10 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 3.

 

NASA astronauts Raja Chari, mission commander, Tom Marshburn, pilot, and Kayla Barron, mission specialist as well as ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Matthias Maurer, also a mission specialist, will launch on the SpaceX Crew Dragon Endurance spacecraft and its Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The international crew entered their official quarantine Oct. 16, and will travel to Kennedy in the coming days for final training and preparations prior to launch.

 

Crew-3 astronauts are scheduled for a long-duration science mission aboard the orbiting laboratory, living and working as part of what is expected to be a seven-member crew. Launch on Oct. 31 would have Crew-3 arriving at the space station early on the morning of Monday, Nov. 1, for a short handover with the astronauts who flew to the station in April as part of the agency’s SpaceX Crew-2 mission.

 

With the Crew-3 launch date adjustment, return of Crew-2 with NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Akihiko Hoshide, and ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet, currently is planned for early November with splashdown of Crew Dragon Endeavour at one of seven landing zones off the coast of Florida.

NASA astronauts Raja Chari, Tom Marshburn, and Kayla Barron, and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Matthias Maurer, entered their official quarantine period beginning Saturday, Oct. 16, in preparation for their flight to the International Space Station on NASA’s SpaceX Crew-3 mission. They will lift off at 2:43 a.m. EDT Saturday, Oct. 30, aboard the SpaceX Dragon Endurance, atop the company’s Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

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-3 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. Chari, Marshburn, Barron, and Maurer, as well as those in direct, close contact with the crew, will be tested twice for the virus as a precaution.

Crew-3 astronauts will become the third crew to fly a full-duration mission to the space station on Dragon for a six-month stay on the orbiting laboratory. They are scheduled to arrive at the space station 22 hours later at 12:30 a.m. EDT Sunday, Oct. 31, for a short overlap with NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Akihiko Hoshide, and ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet, who flew to the station as part of the agency’s SpaceX Crew-2 mission in April 2021. Also on board are Mark Vande Hei, NASA astronaut and Pytor Dubrov, cosmonaut of the Russian space agency Roscosmos who flew to the station on a Soyuz spacecraft for Expedition 65 in April 9, 2021, and Anton Shkaplerov, cosmonaut of the Russian space agency who flew to the station on a Soyuz spacecraft Oct. 5, 2021.

More details about the mission and NASA’s Commercial Crew Program can be found in the press kit online and by following the commercial crew blog, @commercial_crew and commercial crew on Facebook.