From left, NASA’s SpaceX Crew-5 crewmembers Anna Kikina, Josh Cassada, Nicole Mann, and Koichi Wakata are on their way to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center to make final preparations for Wednesday’s launch from the Florida spaceport.
NASA’s SpaceX Crew-5 crewmembers have departed Ellington Field near NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston and are en route to the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
NASA astronauts Nicole Mann, commander; Josh Cassada, pilot; and mission specialists Koichi Wakata, of JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency), and Roscosmos cosmonaut Anna Kikina will arrive at approximately 12:15 p.m. EDT today, Oct. 1, to the Launch and Landing Facility at Kennedy. Upon arrival, they will be greeted by NASA leaders before conducting a brief interview with media.
Tune in to NASA TV or the agency’s website to view the media event.
Mann, Cassada, Wakata, and Kikina are slated to lift off from Kennedy’s Launch Complex 39A at noon EDT on Wednesday, Oct. 5 – aboard the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft Endurance, carried by a Falcon 9 rocket – for a science expedition mission to the International Space Station.
The Dragon Endurance spacecraft for NASA’s SpaceX Crew-5 mission arrives at the hangar at Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A in Florida on Sept. 23, 2022. The capsule arrived at the launch complex after making the short journey from its nearby processing facility at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Photo credit: SpaceX
NASA and SpaceX are targeting no earlier than 12:23 p.m. EDT Tuesday, Oct. 4, for the launch of the agency’s Crew-5 mission to the International Space Station with a backup opportunity on Wednesday, Oct. 5.
Mission teams will continue to monitor the impacts of Ian on the Space Coast and NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida and could adjust the launch date again, as necessary. More updates on the planning schedule, including crew arrival from the agency’s Johnson Space Center to Kennedy, will be provided more in the coming days. Based on current schedules, crew arrival is planned no earlier than Friday, Sept. 30. The safety of the crew, ground teams, and hardware are the utmost importance to NASA and SpaceX.
The Dragon Endurance spacecraft is currently mated to the Falcon 9 rocket and safely secured inside SpaceX’s hangar at Launch Complex 39A. Kennedy Space Center is also making preparations across the spaceport to secure other property and infrastructure. After the storm progresses, teams from NASA and SpaceX will evaluate the potential impacts to the center and determine whether to adjust the mission timeline further.
Undocking of the agency’s Crew-4 mission from the space station will move day-for-day along with the Crew-5 launch date to allow a planned five-day direct handover between crews.
The Crew-5 flight will carry NASA astronauts Nicole Mann and Josh Cassada, who will serve as mission commander and pilot, respectively, along with JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Koichi Wakata, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Anna Kikina, who will serve as mission specialists.
Follow the Crew-5 blog for the latest information on the mission and weather impacts. Learn more about Crew-5 by exploring the Commercial Crew Press Kit.
The four members of the SpaceX Crew-5 mission pose for a portrait in their Crew Dragon flight suits at SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, California. From left are Mission Specialist Anna Kikina from Roscosmos; Pilot Josh Cassada and Commander Nicole Aunapu Mann, both from NASA; and Mission Specialist Koichi Wakata from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). Photo credit: SpaceX
NASA will host a Flight Readiness Review (FRR) media teleconference on Monday, Sept. 26, in preparation for the fifth crew rotation mission with SpaceX as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program.
NASA and SpaceX continue to target no earlier than 12:46 p.m. EDT, Monday, Oct. 3, for launch of the agency’s Crew-5 mission to the International Space Station from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
The mission will carry NASA astronauts Nicole Aunapu Mann and Josh Cassada, who will serve as mission commander and pilot, respectively, along with JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Koichi Wakata, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Anna Kikina, who will serve as mission specialists.
These crewmates will travel to the space station for a six-month science and technology research mission. Plans also continue to return NASA’s SpaceX Crew-4 astronauts following a short handover on the space station with Crew-5.
Today’s FRR starts at approximately 4:30 p.m. EDT and includes the following participants:
Kathryn Lueders, associate administrator, Space Operations Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters
Steve Stich, manager, Commercial Crew Program, NASA Kennedy
Joel Montalbano, manager, International Space Station, NASA’s Johnson Space Center
Emily Nelson, chief flight director, Flight Operations Directorate, NASA Johnson
William Gerstenmaier, vice president, Build and Flight Reliability, SpaceX
Junichi Sakai, manager, International Space Station Program, JAXA
Sergei Krikalev, executive director, Human Space Flight Programs, Roscosmos
Based on the duration of the readiness review, NASA may adjust the date of this briefing if not able to complete the telecon prior to 6 p.m. when the agency’s DART mission coverage begins.
From left, Roscosmos cosmonaut Anna Kikina, NASA astronauts Josh Cassada and Nicole Mann, and JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Koichi Wakata will travel to the International Space Station on NASA’s SpaceX Crew-5 mission on Oct. 3, 2022. Photo credit: NASA
NASA astronauts Nicole Mann and Josh Cassada, along with JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Koichi Wakata and Roscosmos cosmonaut Anna Kikina, entered their official quarantine period beginning Monday, Sept. 19, in preparation for their flight to the International Space Station on NASA’s SpaceX Crew-5 mission.
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-5 members are healthy, as well as 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 NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. 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.
NASA’s SpaceX Crew-5 mission is the fifth crew rotation flight to the station as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program. Crew-5 is targeted to launch no earlier than 12:45 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 3, on SpaceX’s Dragon Endurance atop the company’s Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy. Mission operations teams will be closely monitoring the weather leading up to liftoff.
After docking, the Crew-5 astronauts will be welcomed inside the station by the seven-member crew of Expedition 68. The astronauts of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-4 mission will undock from the space station and splash down off the coast of Florida several days after Crew-5’s arrival.
Crew members for NASA’s SpaceX Crew-5 mission to the International Space Station pose at Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A. From left, are NASA astronaut Josh Cassada, pilot; Roscosmos cosmonaut Anna Kikina, mission specialist; NASA astronaut Nicole Mann, mission commander; and JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Koichi Wakata, mission specialist. Photo credit: SpaceX
By Jim Cawley NASA’s Kennedy Space Center
The astronauts who will fly aboard NASA’s SpaceX Crew-5 mission next month are now well-acquainted with their ride to space. Following a successful crew equipment interface testing (CEIT) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, crew members are ready for their trip to the International Space Station for a science expedition mission.
NASA astronauts Nicole Mann, commander; Josh Cassada, pilot; and mission specialists Koichi Wakata, of JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency), and Roscosmos cosmonaut Anna Kikina will lift off aboard SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft – on the company’s Falcon 9 rocket – from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy. Liftoff is targeted for no earlier than Oct. 3. As part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program, Crew-5 marks the sixth human spaceflight mission on SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft and the fifth crew rotation mission to the space station since 2020.
CEIT allows crew members to familiarize themselves with the launch-day timeline and the Dragon interior in a close-to-flight configuration. As part of the testing, astronauts don their flight suits, perform a suited ingress into the vehicle, conduct suit leak checks, and complete communication checkouts.
While inside the vehicle, the crew also listens to the Dragon spacecraft’s fans and pumps to prepare them for the sounds they can expect to hear on launch day. Crew members take additional time to familiarize themselves with the interior of the Dragon before egressing the vehicle, which marks CEIT’s conclusion.
The crew also has undergone mission-specific training at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. This unique 18-month training program featured activities such as studying and participating in extravehicular activities; Russian language; robotics; T-38 jet flying; spacesuit training; spacecraft training; and physical, tool, and science training.
Crew-5 will fly to the space station in SpaceX’s Dragon Endurance, which previously flew the agency’s Crew-3 mission to and from the orbiting laboratory. Follow the commercial crew blog for the latest information on Crew-5 progress and flight readiness as reviews and milestones continue. NASA and its partners will host a media event in the coming weeks to discuss more about Crew-5 progress.
From left, Koichi Wakata, of JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency), Roscosmos cosmonaut Anna Kikina, and NASA astronauts Nicole Mann and Josh Cassada will fly aboard NASA’s SpaceX Crew-5 mission. The crew will lift off aboard SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft – atop the company’s Falcon 9 rocket – from NASA Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A in Florida. Photo credit: SpaceX
NASA and SpaceX are targeting no earlier than 12:45 p.m. EDT Monday, Oct. 3, for the launch of the agency’s Crew-5 mission to the International Space Station. The date adjustment allows for extra separation with spacecraft traffic coming to and from the space station.
Crew-5 will carry two NASA astronauts, Mission Commander Nicole Mann and Pilot Josh Cassada, along with JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Koichi Wakata and Roscosmos cosmonaut Anna Kikina, who will serve as mission specialists.
This is the first spaceflight for Mann, Cassada and Kikina. It is the fifth trip for Wakata. SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket will launch Dragon Endurance and the crew from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida for a science expedition mission at the space station.
Following a crew handover period, astronauts from NASA’s SpaceX Crew-4 mission are scheduled for return to Earth in October aboard their SpaceX Dragon Freedom.
NASA astronaut Josh Cassada works on water survival training at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. Cassada, along with NASA astronaut Nicole Mann, Koichi Wakata of JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency), and Roscosmos cosmonaut Anna Kikina, will fly to the International Space Station aboard NASA’s SpaceX Crew-5 mission. Photo credit: Johnson Space Center
By Jim Cawley NASA’s Kennedy Space Center
The crew members who will fly aboard NASA’s SpaceX Crew-5 mission are in the home stretch of a unique 18-month training program to prepare them for their mission to the International Space Station for a science expedition mission.
NASA astronauts Nicole Mann, commander; Josh Cassada, pilot; and mission specialists Koichi Wakata, of JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency), and Roscosmos cosmonaut Anna Kikina will lift off aboard SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft – on the company’s Falcon 9 rocket – from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Liftoff is targeted for no earlier than Sept. 29. This marks the fifth crew rotation mission of the company’s human space transportation system, and its sixth flight with astronauts, to the space station for the agency’s Commercial Crew Program.
The crew has undergone mission-specific training at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, while also traveling to SpaceX in Hawthorne, California, for spacecraft training, and to international partner agencies for system and payload training.
Cassie Rodriquez, center, Crew-5 chief training officer at Johnson Space Center, poses with mission crew, from left to right, Josh Cassada, Anna Kikina, Nicole Mann, and Koichi Wakata. Photo credit: Johnson Space Center
“We really focus on what they’re going to need to perform the space station mission,” said Cassie Rodriquez, Crew-5 chief training officer at Johnson. “So that’s specific to the systems they’ll be working with and tasks they will be performing.”
In addition to space station systems, the crew has studied and participated in extravehicular activities; Russian language; robotics; T-38 jet flying; spacesuit training; spacecraft training; and physical, tool, and science training. The astronauts also are given opportunities to exercise crew resource management, where they are exposed to contingency situations, learning how to respond and take specific roles in case of an emergency.
“We put them through scenarios to help develop that teamwork and expeditionary skills; how to live and work with other people in very high-stress and dangerous situations,” Rodriquez said. “They have shown leadership, toughness, and focus in everything that they do. The dedication to human spaceflight, to making the mission a success – it’s very inspiring.”
Crew-5 will fly to the space station in Dragon Endurance, which previously flew the agency’s Crew-3 mission to and from the orbiting laboratory. Follow the commercial crew blog for the latest information on Crew-5 progress and flight readiness as reviews and milestones continue. NASA and its partners will host a media event in the coming weeks to discuss more about Crew-5 progress.
A collage of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-5 from left to right, top to bottom :NASA astronauts Nicole Mann and Josh Cassada, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Koichi Wakata, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Anna Kikina. Credits: NASA
A pair of news conferences on Thursday, Aug. 4, at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston will highlight the agency’s SpaceX Crew-5 mission to the International Space Station. The mission is NASA’s fifth crew rotation flight involving a U.S. commercial spacecraft carrying crew for a science expedition aboard the microgravity laboratory.
The agency will host a mission overview news conference at 12:30 p.m. EDT and a crew news conference at 2 p.m. Both will air live on NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agency’s website. The crew also will be available for individual interviews after 3 p.m.
The Crew-5 mission will carry NASA astronauts Nicole Mann and Josh Cassada as well as JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Koichi Wakata, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Anna Kikina. The Falcon 9 rocket and the Dragon Endurance spacecraft is scheduled to launch no earlier than Sept. 29 from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
For a link to the full media advisory, click here.
From left to right: Anna Kikina, Josh Cassada, Nicole Mann and Koichi Wakata – the crew of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-5 mission to the International Space Station – poses for a group photo along with the official mission patch. Photo credit: NAS
Media accreditation now is open for the launch of the fifth SpaceX Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket that will carry astronauts to the International Space Station for a science expedition mission as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.
The earliest targeted launch date for the mission is Friday, Sept. 29, from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
The Crew-5 launch will carry two NASA astronauts Mission Commander Nicole Mann and Pilot Josh Cassada, along with JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Koichi Wakata and Roscosmos cosmonaut Anna Kikina, who will serve as mission specialists. This is the first spaceflight for Mann, Cassada and Kikina. It is the fifth trip for Wakata.
Following a crew handover period, astronauts from NASA’s SpaceX Crew-4 mission are scheduled for return to Earth in October aboard their SpaceX Dragon Freedom.
