NASA, SpaceX clear Crew-7 mission for launch on August 25
What's the story
SpaceX and NASA have announced the Crew-7 mission is scheduled for launch on August 25 at 1:19pm IST.
This mission will send four astronauts, from different nations, to the International Space Station (ISS) aboard SpaceX's Crew Dragon capsule, Endurance.
The launch will take place from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. SpaceX has also confirmed that the crew has completed a full rehearsal of the launch day activities.
Twitter Post
Take a look at SpaceX's post
Crew-7, SpaceX, and @NASA completed a full rehearsal of launch day activities pic.twitter.com/LpzFYpiFpa — SpaceX (@SpaceX) August 22, 2023
Details
Meet the astronauts on Crew-7 mission
Crew-7 mission members include NASA's Jasmin Moghbeli, Andreas Mogensen of the European Space Agency, Konstantin Borisov from Roscosmos, and Japan's Satoshi Furukawa.
Moghbeli will be the commander of SpaceX Endurance while Mogensen will pilot the capsule. Borisov and Furukawa serve as mission specialists.
Crew-7 will replace the four crew members who arrived at the ISS via Crew-6 mission in March.
Crew-6 will return to Earth roughly five days after Crew-7's arrival, depending on weather conditions in the targeted splashdown zone.
Activities
Take a look at the investigations to be performed
The Crew-7 astronauts will have a lot to do once they are aboard the ISS.
The astronauts will conduct over 200 research technology demonstrations and scientific investigations at the orbiting space lab.
These include collecting microbial samples during spacewalks which will be brought back to Earth for further research.
The crew will also be performing a study that assesses the sleep differences on Earth and in space.
What Next?
The flight readiness review cleared the mission for launch
Yesterday, NASA and SpaceX conducted a flight readiness review which went well, clearing the mission for launch.
During the review, the teams addressed concerns about corrosion in the valves of other Dragon capsules. That issue has been resolved with the teams swapping out some valves on Endurance.
Steve Stich, manager of NASA's Commercial Crew Program, confirmed that they have a "good path forward and good rationale for the rest of the valves on the vehicle."
Insights
Backup launch dates are on Saturday and Sunday
If Crew-7 launches on time on August 25, it is expected to arrive at the ISS around 11:30am IST on Saturday, August 26.
You can watch the live streaming of the lift-off and docking events via NASA's official YouTube handle.
In the event of technical issues or unfavorable weather, backup launch dates are planned for Saturday and Sunday.