Dragon Undocks From Station, Crew Headed Back to Earth

SpaceX's Dragon Endurance spacecraft carrying the Crew-7 quartet approaches the International Space Station for docking on August 27, 2023, as it soared 261 miles above the Atlantic ocean.
SpaceX’s Dragon Endurance spacecraft carrying the Crew-7 quartet approaches the International Space Station for docking on August 27, 2023, as it soared 261 miles above the Atlantic Ocean.

The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft with NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Andreas Mogensen, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Satoshi Furukawa, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov inside undocked from the forward-facing port of the International Space Station’s Harmony module at 11:20 a.m. EDT to complete a nearly six-month science mission.

NASA coverage of Crew-7’s return will continue with audio only, and full coverage will resume at the start of the splashdown broadcast. Real-time audio between Crew-7 and flight controllers at NASA’s Mission Audio stream will remain available and includes conversations with astronauts aboard the space station and a live video feed from the orbiting laboratory.

NASA TV coverage will resume at 4:30 a.m. Tuesday until Dragon splashes down at approximately 5:50 a.m. on Tuesday, March 12, off the coast of Florida and Crew-7 members are recovered.

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-7 mission launched Aug. 26, 2023, on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.


More details about the mission and NASA’s commercial crew program can be found by following the commercial crew blog, @commercial_crew and commercial crew on Facebook.

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.

Get weekly updates from NASA Johnson Space Center at: https://roundupreads.jsc.nasa.gov/

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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, SpaceX Provide Crew-7 Hardware Operations Status

The Crew-7 astronauts, 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 Furakawa.
The Crew-7 astronauts, 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 Furakawa. Photo credit: NASA/Bill Stafford and Robert Markowitz

NASA and SpaceX are preparing for the seventh rotational mission of the company’s human space transportation system to the International Space Station as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program. The earliest targeted launch date for NASA’s SpaceX Crew-7 mission is Tuesday, Aug. 15, from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

 

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 aboard the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft, named Endurance, which previously flew on NASA’s SpaceX Crew-3 and Crew-5 missions. This will be the first launch for the Falcon 9 rocket booster SpaceX selected to support this mission.

 

Dragon currently is being prepared for flight at SpaceX’s processing facility in Cape Canaveral, Florida. As part of the refurbishment process, teams will install new components, including the heat shield, parachutes, and Draco engines in addition to a flight-proven nosecone. SpaceX recently completed Dragon’s propulsion system checkouts and will soon mate the heat shield to the spacecraft. Once refurbishment is complete, Dragon will be stacked to its trunk ahead of transportation to SpaceX’s hangar at nearby Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy.

 

Following static fire testing at a SpaceX facility in Texas, the booster will undergo stage testing and further assessments prior to acceptance and certification for flight.

 

Once all rocket and spacecraft system checkouts are complete and components are certified for flight, SpaceX teams will mate Dragon to the Falcon 9 rocket in the company’s hangar at Launch Complex 39A. Teams will then roll the integrated spacecraft and rocket to the pad and raise it to a vertical position for an integrated static fire test prior to launch.

 

Following liftoff, the Falcon 9 first stage will separate from the second stage and land at SpaceX’s Landing Zone 1 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Upon its arrival to the space station, Crew-7 will dock to the space-facing, or zenith, port of the Harmony module.

 

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

 

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.

Mission Specialist Assigned to NASA’s SpaceX Crew-7 Mission

Astronaut Satoshi Furukawa from JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency)
JAXA (Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Satoshi Furukawa was named a mission specialist for NASA’s SpaceX Crew-7 mission. Photo credit: NASA

Astronaut Satoshi Furukawa from JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) has been selected as a mission specialist for NASA’s SpaceX Crew-7 mission – the agency’s seventh rotational mission to the International Space Station.

Furukawa joins NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Andreas Mogensen, who will serve as spacecraft commander and pilot, respectively. An additional crew member will be assigned at a later date.

Furukawa spent 165 days aboard the orbiting laboratory in 2011 as a flight engineer with Expeditions 28 and 29. As part of his duties, he helped support the final space shuttle mission, STS-135.

This will be the first spaceflight for Moghbeli, who became a NASA astronaut in 2017, and the first long-duration mission for Mogensen. He previously served as a flight engineer on a 10-day mission to the space station in 2015. Crew-7 will be his second trip to space.

NASA and SpaceX are targeting no earlier than mid-August for the launch of Crew-7, aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The four astronauts will join an expedition crew aboard the space station.

For more insight on NASA’s Commercial Crew Program missions to the orbiting laboratory, follow the commercial crew blog. More details can be found @commercial_crew on Twitter and commercial crew on Facebook.