NASA, SpaceX Update Crew Launch and Return DatesDanielle SempsrottPosted on June 14, 2021NASA and SpaceX have adjusted target launch and return dates for upcoming crew missions to and from the International Space Station based on visiting vehicle traffic.NASA’s SpaceX Crew-3 mission now is targeting launch no earlier than Sunday, Oct. 31, with NASA astronauts Raja Chari, Tom Marshburn and Kayla Barron and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Matthias Maurer. Crew-3 will launch on a new Crew Dragon spacecraft from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida to begin a six-month science mission at the space station.Crew-3 astronauts will arrive at the space station for a short handover period with the Crew-2 astronauts and other crew members on Expedition 66. Crew-2 NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Aki Hoshide, and ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet are targeting early-to-mid November for a return to Earth inside Crew Dragon Endeavour off the coast of Florida.Following Crew-3, the next crew rotation mission is targeted for no earlier than mid-April 2022 with the partner spacecraft and launch vehicle to be determined at a later date.NASA’s Commercial Crew Program is working with industry through a public-private partnership to provide safe, reliable, and cost-effective transportation to and from the International Space Station, which will allow for additional research time and will increase the opportunity for discovery aboard humanity’s testbed for exploration. The space station remains the springboard to space exploration, including future missions to the Moon and eventually to Mars.
https://blogs.esa.int/exploration/crew-3-target-30-october-launch/Quote<snip>Crew-4 will be commanded by NASA astronaut Kjell Lindgren with fellow NASA astronaut Bob Hines as pilot. ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti will be a mission specialist and command the ISS Expedition 68 crew, while the remaining crew member has yet to be named. Crew-3 astronauts are set to return to Earth in late April 2022 following a similar handover with Crew-4.Following Crew-4, the next US Commercial Crew flights are targeting September 2022 and March 2023 with the specific commercial partner to be determined.
<snip>Crew-4 will be commanded by NASA astronaut Kjell Lindgren with fellow NASA astronaut Bob Hines as pilot. ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti will be a mission specialist and command the ISS Expedition 68 crew, while the remaining crew member has yet to be named. Crew-3 astronauts are set to return to Earth in late April 2022 following a similar handover with Crew-4.Following Crew-4, the next US Commercial Crew flights are targeting September 2022 and March 2023 with the specific commercial partner to be determined.
Yea! @StephenClark1 finally gets answer on expansion of @spacex crew dragon fleet: another new spacecraft will debut on Crew-4 next spring. Also another new Cargo Dragon on tap too.
(snip)Crew-4 will be commanded by Kjell Lindgren with Bob Hines as pilot, both NASA astronauts. ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti will be a mission specialist and command the station’s Expedition 68 crew, while the remaining crew member has yet to be named. (snip)https://blogs.nasa.gov/commercialcrew/2021/10/07/nasa-spacex-update-upcoming-commercial-crew-flights/
Quote from: Rondaz on 10/07/2021 09:33 pm(snip)Crew-4 will be commanded by Kjell Lindgren with Bob Hines as pilot, both NASA astronauts. ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti will be a mission specialist and command the station’s Expedition 68 crew, while the remaining crew member has yet to be named. (snip)https://blogs.nasa.gov/commercialcrew/2021/10/07/nasa-spacex-update-upcoming-commercial-crew-flights/Earlier this week, "Rogozin says Crew Dragon safe for Russian cosmonauts".Cosmonauts appear to be back in the running for that fourth seat.
Quote from: Comga on 10/29/2021 09:08 pmQuote from: Rondaz on 10/07/2021 09:33 pm(snip)Crew-4 will be commanded by Kjell Lindgren with Bob Hines as pilot, both NASA astronauts. ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti will be a mission specialist and command the station’s Expedition 68 crew, while the remaining crew member has yet to be named. (snip)https://blogs.nasa.gov/commercialcrew/2021/10/07/nasa-spacex-update-upcoming-commercial-crew-flights/Earlier this week, "Rogozin says Crew Dragon safe for Russian cosmonauts".Cosmonauts appear to be back in the running for that fourth seat.From the Crew-3 administrators briefing earlier today (10/29/21) Kathy (I think) seemed to indicate that they time needed for training and suit manufacturing would likely mean that Crew-5 was the likely target for cosmonauts on Dragon.Sent from my Pixel 5a using Tapatalk
NASA has assigned astronaut Jessica Watkins to serve as a mission specialist on the agency’s upcoming SpaceX Crew-4 mission, the fourth crew rotation flight of the Crew Dragon spacecraft to the International Space Station.This will be Watkins’ first trip to space following her selection as an astronaut in 2017. Watkins joins NASA astronauts Kjell Lindgren and Robert Hines, as well as ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti, as a crew member for the Crew-4 mission.NASA previously announced the assignments of Lindgren and Hines as spacecraft commander and pilot, respectively, in February, and ESA announced Cristoforetti as a mission specialist for the mission in May.Crew-4 is scheduled to launch in April 2022 on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida for a six-month science mission aboard the microgravity laboratory.