NASA’s SpaceX Crew-7 Mission

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-7 Go for Launch to Space Station

NASA's SpaceX Crew-7 crew members are photographed inside the Dragon spacecraft during a dry dress rehearsal on Aug. 22, 2023. — NASA’s SpaceX Crew-7 crew members are photographed in the Dragon Endurance spacecraft during a dry dress rehearsal at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Aug. 22, 2023. From left are Roscosmos cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Andreas Mogensen, NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli, and JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Satoshi Furukawa. Photo credit: SpaceX

NASA, SpaceX, and international partners have completed the launch readiness review for the agency’s Crew-7 mission to the International Space Station. Crew-7 managers gathered at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 9 p.m. EDT Wednesday to review the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft readiness and decided launch is “Go” for liftoff to the space station. Launch now is targeted for 3:50 a.m. EDT Friday, Aug. 25, from Kennedy’s Launch Complex 39A. If needed, a backup launch opportunity is available at 3:27 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 26.

On Wednesday, rocket and ground systems engineering teams completed the detailed data reviews following the integrated static fire of the Falcon 9 rocket conducted the day before at Launch Complex 39A. Falcon 9 performance was normal, resulting in a successful full duration static fire of all nine Merlin first-stage engines.

Operations teams are not tracking any major issues with Falcon 9 or the Dragon spacecraft. NASA and SpaceX spent Wednesday working toward final launch readiness, with remaining work expected to be completed ahead of launch.

The International Space Station Program is monitoring the potential need for a debris avoidance maneuver early afternoon Thursday, Aug. 24, for the orbital outpost. Space station mission control trajectory teams are tracking the debris and determining whether a short duration burn of the station’s thrusters would be required. If needed, the maneuver is not expected to impact the planned arrival of the Roscosmos ISS Progress cargo spacecraft also on Thursday. More information will be provided as orbital trajectory teams review the data and determine whether the debris would fly in the vicinity of the space station requiring a change in station’s altitude.

NASA's Crew-7 crew members are photographed in front of SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket following their arrival to Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center during a dry dress rehearsal on Aug. 22, 2023. — NASA’s SpaceX Crew-7 crew members arrive at Launch Complex 39A during a dry dress rehearsal at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Aug. 22, 2023. Photo credit: SpaceX

On Tuesday, Crew-7 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 participated in a rehearsal of launch day activities in preparation for the upcoming Crew-7 launch.

Rehearsal began with launch teams assisting Crew-7 crewmates into their SpaceX spacesuits inside the Astronaut Crew Quarters at Kennedy’s Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building – just as they will on launch day. Next, the crew took the elevator down to the ground floor and exited the building’s double doors, where Tesla Model X vehicles were waiting to drive them the short distance to the launch site.

After they arrived at the launch pad, Moghbeli, Mogensen, Furukawa, and Borisov rode the launch tower’s elevator up to the crew access arm – the walkway they will use to enter Dragon, named Endurance. Once securely seated inside, the crew members checked their communications systems and performed seat rotation and suit leak checks. The rehearsal concluded with closure of the spacecraft’s side hatch, which normally occurs about one hour and 25 minutes before liftoff.

Forecasters with Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s 45th Weather Squadron predict a 90% chance of favorable weather conditions for launch, with the cumulus cloud rule serving as the primary weather concern.

Starting at 11:45 p.m. EDT Thursday, Aug. 24, the live broadcast of the mission – including liftoff and postlaunch milestones – will air on NASA Television and the agency’s website. Check the Crew-7 blog starting at 11 p.m., for key events leading up to launch and through spacecraft separation.

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.

Cardiac, Digestion Research Ahead of Space Delivery and New Crew

The seven-member Expedition 69 crew gather for a portrait. Clockwise from left are, Woody Hoburg, Dmitri Petelin, Sergey Prokopyev, Frank Rubio, Stephen Bowen, Sultan Alneyadi and Andrey Fedyaev. — The seven-member Expedition 69 crew gathers for a portrait. Clockwise from left are, Woody Hoburg, Dmitri Petelin, Sergey Prokopyev, Frank Rubio, Stephen Bowen, Sultan Alneyadi and Andrey Fedyaev.

A cargo craft is orbiting Earth today heading toward the International Space Station as the seven Expedition 69 crew members studied how weightlessness affects cardiac tissue and the digestive system. Meanwhile, a new crew counts down to its launch early Friday.

Three tons of space supplies are packed aboard the Roscosmos Progress 85 cargo craft and on the way to the orbital residents for a delivery scheduled at 11:50 p.m. EDT on Thursday. Station commander Sergey Prokopyev and Flight Engineer Dmitri Petelin will be on duty Thursday night monitoring the Progress 85 when it automatically docks to the Zvezda service module’s aft port. The duo will wait about two hours during standard leak and pressure checks before opening the resupply ship’s hatch and begin unpacking the new food, fuel, and other cargo.

While the cargo activities get underway, the SpaceX Crew-7 mission will launch at 3:50 a.m. on Friday from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. Four Commercial Crew astronauts will be seated inside the SpaceX Dragon Endurance spacecraft atop the company’s Falcon 9 rocket awaiting a 24-hour trip to their new home in space.

NASA astronaut and Crew-7 Commander Jasmin Moghbeli will be leading Pilot Andreas Mogensen of ESA (European Space Agency) and Mission Specialists Satoshi Furukawa of JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) and Konstantin Borisov of Roscosmos aboard Endurance during the ride to the station. Endurance, with the quartet inside, will automatically dock to the Harmony module’s space-facing port at 2:02 a.m. on Saturday. The foursome will open the hatch about two hours later, enter the station, greet the Expedition 69 crew, and begin a six-month microgravity research mission.

Meanwhile, the crewmates living in space explored how microgravity affects cardiac cells and the digestive system to benefit humans living on and off the Earth. NASA Flight Engineers Frank Rubio and Woody Hoburg treated samples of stem-cell derived heart micro-tissues on Wednesday in the Kibo laboratory module. The Project EAGLE biology study takes place in Kibo’s Life Science Glovebox and may reveal potential therapies for space-caused cardiac abnormalities and Earth-bound heart diseases.

Prokopyev and Petelin started the day with ultrasound scans after breakfast to observe how the digestive system adapts to weightlessness. Prokopyev then partnered with Flight Engineer Andrey Fedyaev in the afternoon for more tests of the lower body negative pressure suit that may help crew members readjust to Earth’s gravity environment.

Fedyaev will be returning to Earth soon with Hoburg and astronauts Stephen Bowen of NASA and Sultan Alneyadi of UAE (United Arab Emirates). The quartet will enter the SpaceX Dragon Endeavour spacecraft one week after Crew-7 arrives, undock from Harmony’s forward port, and splashdown off the coast of Florida to complete a six-month space mission. During Wednesday afternoon, the four crewmates inspected their SpaceX pressure suits they will wear inside Endeavour when they depart the station for the ride back to Earth.

Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_station and @ISS_Research on X, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

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Cargo Mission Launches Tonight, SpaceX Crew-7 Lifts Off Friday

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket engines fired for 6 seconds as part of the pre-launch static fire test on Tuesday prior to the launch of the SpaceX Crew-7 mission scheduled for 3:49 a.m. on Friday. Credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky

Two rockets on opposite sides of the world will launch to the International Space Station delivering cargo and a new crew this week. The first spaceship will launch from Kazakhstan Tuesday night hauling supplies to replenish the Expedition 69 crew. The second will launch from Florida sending four new crew members to the orbital lab.

The Roscosmos Progress 85 cargo craft is counting down to a launch at 9:08 p.m. EDT tonight from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. It will orbit Earth for two days before docking to the aft port of the Zvezda service module at 11:50 p.m. on Thursday. A few hours later on Friday, cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin will open Progress 85’s hatches and begin unpacking about three tons of food, fuel, and supplies.

Four Commercial Crew astronauts were suited up inside the SpaceX Dragon Endurance spacecraft at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida overnight for their dry dress launch countdown. A few hours later, the Falcon 9 engines fired for 6 seconds as part of the pre-launch static fire test. SpaceX Crew-7 is slated to launch at 3:49 a.m. on Friday.

Crew-7 Commander Jasmin Moghbeli of NASA will lead Pilot Andreas Mogensen of ESA (European Space Agency), and Mission Specialists Satoshi Furukawa of JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) and Konstantin Borisov of Roscosmos during their ride to the orbital lab. The quartet, inside the Endurance, will dock to the Harmony module’s space-facing port at 2:02 a.m. on Saturday beginning a six-month space research mission.

Back aboard the orbital outpost on Tuesday, the seven crewmates from the U.S., UAE (United Arab Emirates), and Russia stayed focused on microgravity research and lab maintenance.

NASA Flight Engineers Frank Rubio and Stephen Bowen swapped out hardware inside the Fluids Integrated Rack for a boiling and condensation study that may improve thermal systems on Earth and in space. Rubio earlier joined UAE astronaut Sultan Alneyadi organizing cargo inside the Northrop Grumman Cygnus space freighter. Bowen began his day cleaning crew quarters ventilation systems and checking airflow sensors. Flight Engineer Woody Hoburg of NASA also assisted with the Cygnus work before configuring the Tranquility module’s Bishop airlock ahead of its depressurization.

Prokopyev attached sensors to himself for a long-running Roscosmos heart study during the morning. He later joined Petelin for ultrasound scans to observe how the digestive system adapts to weightlessness. Roscosmos Flight Engineer Andrey Fedyaev worked on orbital plumbing tasks inside the Nauka science module.

At the end of the day, Fedyaev joined Bowen, Hoburg, and Alneyadi to prepare for their upcoming departure on Sept. 1 inside the SpaceX Dragon Endeavour spacecraft and splashdown off the coast of Florida about 24 hours later. The quartet called down to ground specialists and discussed spacecraft operations during their return to Earth.

Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_station and @ISS_Research on X, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

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NASA SpaceX Crew-7 ‘Go’ for August 25 Launch

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-7 Flight Readiness Review takes place at Kennedy Space Center on Monday, Aug. 21, 2023. The mission is targeted to lift off from the Florida spaceport’s Launch Complex 39A at 3:49 a.m. EDT Friday, Aug. 25, 2023. NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Andreas Mogensen, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Satoshi Furukawa, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov will fly to the International Space Station aboard SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft, powered by the company’s Falcon 9 rocket.

Managers with NASA and SpaceX, along with international partners, pose for a photo after completion of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-7 Flight Readiness Review at Kennedy Space Center on Monday, Aug. 21, 2023. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

The Flight Readiness Review (FRR) for NASA’s SpaceX Crew-7 mission to the International Space Station has concluded, and teams are proceeding toward a planned liftoff at 3:49 a.m. EDT Friday, Aug. 25, from Launch Complex 39A at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

NASA will hold a media teleconference at 5 p.m. EDT today, Monday, Aug. 21, at Kennedy to discuss the outcome of the review. Listen live on NASA’s website.

Participants in the teleconference are:

Ken Bowersox, associate administrator, Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters
Steve Stich, manager, NASA Commercial Crew Program, Kennedy
Joel Montalbano, manager, International Space Station Program, NASA’s Johnson Space Center
William Gerstenmaier, vice president, Build and Flight Reliability, SpaceX
Frank De Winne, program manager, International Space Station, ESA
Junichi Sakai, program manager, International Space Station, JAXA

On Aug. 20, SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon Endurance spacecraft rolled out to the pad at Launch Complex 39A. On Tuesday, Aug. 22, the crew will participate in a dry dress rehearsal ahead of an integrated static fire test in preparation for liftoff early Friday morning.

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 International Space Station aboard the Dragon spacecraft. As part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program, Crew-7 marks the eighth human spaceflight mission on SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft and the seventh crew rotation mission to the space station since 2020.

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.

Station Kicks Off Week Prepping for Cargo and Crew Missions

The four SpaceX Crew-7 members pose for a portrait in their pressure suits. From left are, Jasmin Moghbeli, Andreas Mogensen, Satoshi Furukawa, and Konstantin Borisov. Credit: SpaceX

The Expedition 69 crew is gearing up for cargo and crew vehicles headed to the International Space Station this week. The seven orbital residents are also continuing critical space research while preparing for September’s crew departure activities.

An extra port on the orbital outpost is open following the departure of the Roscosmos Progress 83 cargo craft on Sunday. It will be replaced by the Roscosmos Progress 85 cargo craft after it launches at 9:08 p.m. EDT on Tuesday from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The Progress 85 will dock at 11:50 p.m. on Thursday to the port left vacant by the Progress 83 on the aft end of the Zvezda service module.

Commander Sergey Prokopyev joined Flight Engineer Dmitri Petelin on Monday training for the 85P’s arrival. The duo from Roscosmos practiced using the telerobotically operated rendezvous unit, or TORU, located in Zvezda. A cosmonaut would use the TORU to remotely control an arriving spacecraft in the unlikely event the approaching vehicle was unable to automatically dock.

Four Commercial Crew members are at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center counting down to their launch to the orbital lab at 3:49 a.m. EDT on Friday. NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli will command SpaceX Crew-7 Pilot Andreas Mogensen of ESA (European Space Agency), and Mission Specialists Satoshi Furukawa of JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) and Konstantin Borisov of Roscosmos during their ride to the orbital lab. The quartet, inside the SpaceX Dragon Endurance spacecraft, will dock to the Harmony module’s space-facing port at 2:02 a.m. on Saturday.

One week after the arrival of the SpaceX Crew-7 mission, four Expedition 69 crewmates will return to Earth aboard the SpaceX Dragon Endeavour spacecraft. NASA astronaut Stephen Bowen will lead Woody Hoburg of NASA, Sultan Alneyadi of UAE (United Arab Emirates), and Andrey Fedyaev of Roscosmos when they undock from Harmony’s forward port in Endeavour on Sept. 1 and splash down off the coast of Florida about 24 hours later.

The soon-to-be departing quartet reviewed their departure activities and Dragon deorbit procedures on computer tablets at the end of the day on Monday. Bowen, Hoburg, and Alneyadi also tried on specialized garments, also known as orthostatic intolerance garments, that will help their bodies re-adapt to Earth’s gravity shortly after returning. The foursome launched to the station as the SpaceX Crew-6 mission on March 2, docked the following day, entered the station, and became Expedition 68-69 flight engineers.

Petelin and Fedyaev tested their own version of a suit, called the lower body negative pressure suit, that helps crew members readjust to Earth’s gravity environment. The cosmonauts are evaluating the unique suit for its potential to redistribute fluids that have pooled in the upper body, due to microgravity, toward the lower body.

Even amid the upcoming mission activities, microgravity science was underway aboard the orbital lab. NASA Flight Engineer Frank Rubio worked on science hardware throughout Monday, first reconfiguring the Cell Biology Experiment Facility, a biology research incubator. Afterward, he swapped out more graphene aerogel samples in the Microgravity Science Glovebox for a space manufacturing study. Alneyadi set up the Neuronix gene therapy study in the Life Science Glovebox to begin exploring potential therapies for diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_station and @ISS_Research on Twitter, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

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NASA’s SpaceX Crew-7 Astronauts Touch Down at Florida Spaceport

NASA's SpaceX Crew-7 crew members arrive at Kennedy Space Center in Florida — Crew members for NASA’s SpaceX Crew-7 mission to the International Space Station arrive at the Launch and Landing Facility at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Sunday, Aug. 20, 2023. NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Andreas Mogensen, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Satoshi Furukawa, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov will launch aboard SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket. Liftoff is targeted for 3:49 a.m. EDT Friday, Aug. 25, 2023, from Kennedy’s Launch Complex 39A.

The crew that will soon launch to the International Space Station as part of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-7 mission arrived Sunday at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida to start final preparations for liftoff.

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, landed via Gulfstream jet aircraft at the Launch and Landing Facility at Kennedy after departing from Ellington Field near the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.

The flight crew will be greeted at arrival by leaders from NASA, JAXA, and ESA.

A media event is scheduled about 12:15 p.m. EDT with the following participants:

Bill Nelson, administrator, NASA
Bob Cabana, associate administrator, NASA
Janet Petro, director, NASA Kennedy
Dana Hutcherson, deputy manager, Commercial Crew Program
Eric van der Wal, lead, International Space Station Program Houston Office, ESA
Junichi Sakai, program manager, International Space Station, JAXA
NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli, spacecraft commander
ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen, pilot
JAXA astronaut Satoshi Furukawa, mission specialist
Roscosmos cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov, mission specialist

The event is scheduled to broadcast live, if weather permits, on NASA Television and the agency’s website. No teleconference option is available for this event.

Crew members are scheduled to lift off at 3:49 a.m. EDT Friday, Aug. 25, aboard a SpaceX 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 (CCP).

This is the seventh crew rotation flight and the eighth human spaceflight mission on SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft to the International Space Station for CCP. 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.

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-7 Astronauts Depart Houston for Florida

NASA's SpaceX Crew-7 crew in training at SpaceX in Hawthorne, California, before their mission to the International Space Station. — NASA’s SpaceX Crew-7 crew in training at SpaceX in Hawthorne, California, before their mission to the International Space Station. Photo credit: SpaceX

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-7 crew members now are en route to the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida to begin final launch preparations.

Crew-7 crewmates 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, departed by plane from Ellington Field near the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, for the short flight to the Florida spaceport. The crew is expected to arrive at the Launch and Landing Facility at Kennedy this afternoon.

Crew-7 astronauts will be greeted on their arrival by leaders from NASA, JAXA, and ESA for a brief welcome ceremony targeted for approximately 12:15 p.m. EDT. The event is scheduled to broadcast live, if weather permits, on NASA Television and the agency’s website.

SpaceX Crew-7 is targeted to launch at 3:49 a.m. EDT on Friday, Aug. 25, to the International Space Station.

Crew-7 Starts Health Stabilization, Visits Dragon Ahead of Launch

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-7 crew members are photographed inside the crew access arm, which they will walk across on launch day to enter SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft, at NASA Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A in Florida during a launch site familiarization tour on July 22, 2023. From left are Roscosmos cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov, mission specialist; ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Andreas Mogensen, pilot; NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli, commander; and JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Satoshi Furukawa, mission specialist. Photo credit: SpaceX

Crew members who will soon fly aboard NASA’s SpaceX Crew-7 mission will enter quarantine Friday in one of the major milestones before they head to the launch site in Florida to start their mission to the International Space Station.

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-7 members are healthy, as well as protect the astronauts already on the space station. During the period, contact with other people are limited during the isolation time to avoid sickness. Family members and some launch and flight team members are cleared before they interact with the crew during this timeframe though most interactions are handled remotely.

Earlier this month, the crew visited the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida for a close look at the spacecraft they will take them to the International Space Station.

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-7 crew members familiarize themselves with SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft at the company’s refurbishment facility at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on July 22, 2023. From left are Roscosmos cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov, mission specialist; ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Andreas Mogensen, pilot; NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli, commander; and JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Satoshi Furukawa, mission specialist. — NASA’s SpaceX Crew-7 crew members familiarize themselves with SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft at the company’s refurbishment facility at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on July 22, 2023. From left are Roscosmos cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov, mission specialist; ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen, pilot; NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli, commander; and JAXA astronaut Satoshi Furukawa, mission specialist. Photo credit: SpaceX

Gathered at SpaceX’s refurbishment facility at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, the four crew members put on their flight suits, entered the spacecraft, performed leak checks and completed communications checkouts.

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, named Endurance, which previously supported the Crew-3 and Crew-5 missions to and from the orbiting laboratory.

The company’s Falcon 9 rocket is targeted to launch Crew-7 no earlier than 3:49 a.m. EDT on Friday, Aug. 25 from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy. As part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program, Crew-7 marks the eighth human spaceflight mission supported by a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft and the seventh crew rotation mission to the space station since 2020 for NASA.

The crew also listened to the Dragon spacecraft’s fans and pumps while inside the spacecraft to prepare themselves for the sounds they can expect to hear throughout the flight. They also took additional time to familiarize themselves with the interior of Dragon before leaving the spacecraft.

At SpaceX’s Launch Complex 39A, the crew took a familiarization tour of the launch site, completed emergency training, and rode the elevator to the top of the launch pad’s tower to enjoy a beautiful early morning view of Kennedy.

Follow the commercial crew blog for the latest information on Crew-7 progress and flight readiness as reviews and 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.

NASA, SpaceX Reset Crew-7 Launch to Friday, Aug. 25

NASA's SpaceX Crew-7 crew members in their spacesuits — Crew-7 astronauts pose in front of their SpaceX Dragon spacecraft recently at the company’s Hawthorne, California, headquarters. The mission to the International Space Station is targeted for launch on Aug. 25 from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Photo credit: SpaceX

The target launch date for NASA’s SpaceX Crew-7 mission to the International Space Station now is 3:49 a.m. EDT Friday, Aug. 25. Additional time was required for teams to complete pad readiness after SpaceX’s recent Falcon Heavy mission lifted off from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The adjustment also takes advantage of consecutive launch opportunities and deconflicts the station’s cargo spacecraft traffic schedule.

NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Andreas Mogensen, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Satoshi Furukawa, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov will launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket aboard the company’s Dragon spacecraft.

Crew-7 is scheduled to dock to the orbiting laboratory about 2:45 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 26, to the space-facing port of the station’s Harmony module. If needed, Crew-7 has additional launch opportunities on Saturday, Aug. 26 and Sunday, Aug. 27.

Follow NASA’s commercial crew blog for the latest information on Crew-7 flight readiness.

Details about the mission and NASA’s Commercial Crew Program can be found by following the commercial crew blog, @commercial_crew on Twitter, and commercial crew on Facebook.

Astronauts Relax Before Space Delivery, Cosmonauts Prep for Spacewalk

Northrop Grumman's Antares rocket with the Cygnus cargo craft atop launches on time from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. Credit: NASA/Patrick Black — Northrop Grumman’s Antares rocket with the Cygnus cargo craft atop launches on time from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. Credit: NASA/Patrick Black

Expedition 69 is awaiting an orbiting U.S. cargo craft carrying over 8,200 pounds of science and supplies for delivery on Friday. The International Space Station’s residents split their day on Wednesday as four astronauts took the day off while three cosmonauts prepared for a spacewalk next week.

Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus space freighter is orbiting Earth racing towards the orbital lab after its successful launch from Virginia at 8:31 p.m. EDT on Tuesday. NASA Flight Engineers Woody Hoburg and Frank Rubio will be on duty Friday morning when Cygnus begins its slow, methodical arrival for capture. Hoburg will command the Canadarm2 robotic arm to reach out and grapple Cygnus at 5:55 a.m. after its final approach on Friday. Rubio will back up Hoburg monitoring Cygnus and its telemetry as it nears the space station.

Mission controllers on the ground will remotely take control of the Canadarm2 after Cygnus’ capture and install it to the Unity module’s Earth-facing port about two hours later. Cygnus is scheduled to end its stay at the orbital lab at the end of October.

Both astronauts along with NASA Flight Engineer Stephen Bowen and UAE (United Arab Emirates) Flight Engineer Sultan Alneyadi relaxed Wednesday setting some time aside for their daily workouts. The quartet will get back to work on Thursday with a research schedule filled with life science, materials physics, and robotics. The foursome will have one more Cygnus conference with mission controllers on the ground, then get a good night’s sleep before beginning a full day of cargo activities.

Next week, two cosmonauts are scheduled to begin the year’s tenth spacewalk. Commander Sergey Prokopyev and Flight Engineer Dmitri Petelin are due to exit the Poisk airlock on Aug. 9 to install micrometeoroid orbital debris shields and relocate hardware. The duo spent Wednesday reviewing the upcoming spacewalk procedures and configuring their Orlan spacesuits.

Flight Engineer Andrey Fedyaev worked Wednesday photographing the condition of Earth’s forests using a high-power camera. The first-time space flyer, who also joined Prokopyev and Petelin for the spacewalk review, will be in the Nauka science module at the controls of the European robotic arm assisting the spacewalkers next week.

Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_station and @ISS_Research on Twitter, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

Get weekly video highlights at: https://roundupreads.jsc.nasa.gov/videoupdate/

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