Category: SpaceX Crew-7

Crew-7 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 have arrived at Kennedy’s Launch Complex 39A, where SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft, named Endurance, is ready for them to climb in for launch. Liftoff is slated for 3:27 a.m. EDT.

In the next few minutes, they’ll take the elevator up the pad’s fixed service structure and walk down the air-conditioned crew access arm to the White Room, their final stop before climbing aboard.

Crew-7 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 are on their way to Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Pad 39A after departing the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building across the spaceport. They are right on schedule.

Before leaving, they paused to wave and acknowledge the small group of family, friends and support team members who gathered to see them off. Then they climbed into their customized black Tesla Model X vehicles for the 20-minute ride to the pad.

The crew’s vehicles are traveling in the middle of a convoy, including support team members and security personnel. At the launch site, the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft, named Endurance, are ready for the crew’s arrival.

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-7 flight crew just walked out of the double doors below the Neil A. Armstrong Building’s Astronaut Crew Quarters and made their way to the customized Tesla Model X cars that will take them to their spacecraft.

Next stop: Kennedy’s historic Launch Pad 39A.

Crew-7 will conduct new scientific research to prepare for human exploration beyond low Earth orbit and benefit humanity on Earth. Experiments will include the collection of microbial samples from the exterior of the space station, the first study of human response to different spaceflight durations, and an investigation of the physiological aspects of astronauts’ sleep. These are just a few of the more than 200 science experiments and technology demonstrations that will take place during their mission.

While aboard the orbiting laboratory, Crew-7 will see the arrival of cargo aboard both a SpaceX Dragon and a Roscosmos Progress spacecraft. Crew-7 also is expected to welcome the Axiom Mission-3 crew during their expedition. The Soyuz spacecraft with three new crew members also is planned for launch during their stay, and the Soyuz carrying NASA astronaut Frank Rubio and Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin will depart after 371 days on the station.

Commercial crew missions enable NASA to maximize use of the space station, where astronauts have lived and worked continuously for more than 22 years testing technologies, performing research, and developing the skills needed to operate future commercial destinations in low Earth orbit, and explore farther from Earth. Research conducted on the space station provides benefits for people on Earth and paves the way for future long-duration trips to the Moon and beyond through NASA’s Artemis missions.

This will be NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli’s first trip into space after being selected as a NASA astronaut in 2017. The New York native earned a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering with information technology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and a Master of Science in aerospace engineering from the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California. Moghbeli, a helicopter and Marine Corps test pilot, has more than 150 combat missions and 2,000 hours of flight time in over 25 different aircraft. She also is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School in Patuxent River, Maryland. As mission commander, she will be responsible for all phases of flight, from launch to re-entry. She will serve as an Expedition 69/70 flight engineer aboard the station. Follow @astrojaws on X.

Andreas Mogensen was selected as an ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut in 2009 and became the first Danish citizen in space after launching aboard a Soyuz for a 10-day mission to the space station in 2015. As the pilot on Crew-7, he will be responsible for spacecraft systems and performance. Aboard the station, he will serve as an Expedition 69/70 flight engineer. Mogensen is from Copenhagen, Denmark. He completed undergraduate studies and received a master’s degree in aeronautical engineering from Imperial College London in England before gaining his doctorate in aerospace engineering from the University of Texas at Austin. Mogensen has since served as a crew member for NEEMO (NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations) missions 17 and 19. Mogensen was the European astronaut liaison officer to NASA’s Johnson Space Center from 2016-2022, working as a CAPCOM for astronauts aboard the station and as ground support for spacewalks, relaying tasks and direction from mission control to the spacewalkers. Follow @astro_andreas on X.

Satoshi Furukawa will be making his second trip to space, having spent 165 days aboard the space station as part of Expeditions 28 and 29 in 2011. Furukawa is from Kanagawa, Japan, and was selected as a JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut in 1999. He is a physician and received his medical degree from the University of Tokyo, and later a doctorate in medical science from the same university. Furukawa served as a crew member on the 13th NEEMO mission, and later, was appointed head of JAXA’s Space Biomedical Research Group. Aboard the station, he will become a flight engineer for Expedition 69/70. Follow @astro_satoshi on X.

Konstantin Borisov will be making his first trip to space, and will also serve as a mission specialist, working to monitor the spacecraft during the dynamic launch and entry phases of flight. He entered the Roscosmos Cosmonaut Corps as a test cosmonaut candidate in 2018 and will serve as a flight engineer for Expedition 69/70.

Crew-7 is the first commercial crew launch to send three international partners to the space station, and it is the first time a non-NASA astronaut will be the pilot on a Dragon spacecraft on a Commercial Crew Program flight.

Follow the commercial crew blog for the latest information on Crew-7 progress and flight readiness as milestones continue. 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 mission 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 are in the suit room in the Astronaut Crew Quarters inside Kennedy Space Center’s Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building.

A team of SpaceX suit technicians will help them as they put on their custom-fitted spacesuits and check the suits for leaks.

Watch now on NASA Television or the agency’s website, where NASA is providing live coverage of key milestones leading up to launch and through ascent following liftoff.

Below are some key milestones for the Crew-7 mission. Launch is targeted for 3:27 a.m. EDT.

• 11:07 p.m. Crew weather brief
• 11:22 p.m. Crew handoff to SpaceX
• 11:27 p.m. Suit donning and checkouts
• 12:07 a.m. Crew walkout from Neil Armstrong Operations & Checkout Building
• 12:12 a.m. Crew transportation to Launch Complex 39A
• 12:32 a.m. Crew arrives at pad and ascends tower
• 12:52 a.m. Crew ingress
• 12:52 a.m. Communication check
• 12:58 a.m. Verify ready for seat rotation
• 12:59 a.m. Suit leak checks
• 1:37 a.m. Hatch close
• 1:17 a.m. Side hatch leak check
• 2:45 a.m. Crew access arm retracts
• 2:49 a.m. Dragon spacecraft launch escape system is armed
• 2:52 a.m. RP-1 (rocket grade kerosene) loading begins; first stage liquid oxygen loading begins
• 3:10 a.m. Second stage liquid oxygen loading begins
• 3:16 a.m. SpaceX Launch Director verifies go for launch
• 3:27:00 a.m. Liftoff!
• 3:28 a.m. Max Q (moment of peak mechanical stress on the rocket)
• 3:29:28 a.m. First and second stages separate
• 3:29:53 a.m. Second stage engine starts
• 3:36:18 a.m. Second stage engine cutoff (SECO-1)
• 3:36 a.m. First stage landing
• 3:39 a.m. Dragon separates from second stage
• 3:40 a.m. Dragon nosecone open sequence begins

Good evening and welcome to live coverage of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-7 mission — the seventh crew rotation flight and the eighth human spaceflight mission on SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft to the International Space Station for NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.

Launch is scheduled for no earlier than 3:27 a.m. EDT Saturday, Aug. 26, from historic Launch Complex 39A at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Here at Kennedy, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, topped by the company’s Dragon spacecraft, named Endurance, awaits liftoff early Saturday morning with an international crew. 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 fly to the space station aboard SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft, which previously supported the Crew-3 and Crew-5 missions to and from the orbiting laboratory.

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.

Starting at 11:30 p.m., on NASA Television and the agency’s website, there will be continuous live coverage of important Crew-7 activities.

Stay with us as the countdown continues. 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.