Commercial Crew Rotation to ISS This Month a First for SpaceX
NASA and SpaceX are beginning a regular cadence of missions with astronauts launching on an American rocket from American soil to the International Space Station as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. NASA’s SpaceX Crew-1 is the first commercial crew rotation mission with four astronauts flying on a commercial spacecraft, and the first including an international partner.
NASA astronauts Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover, Shannon Walker, and Soichi Noguchi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) are set to launch to the space station on SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket. The Crew-1 astronauts named the spacecraft Resilience, highlighting the dedication the teams involved with the mission have displayed and to demonstrate that when we work together, there is no limit to what we can achieve. They named it in honor of their families, colleagues, and fellow citizens.
Launch for the commercial crew rotation mission is targeted for Saturday, Oct. 31, from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The crew is scheduled for a long duration stay aboard the orbiting laboratory, conducting science and maintenance. The four astronauts are set to return in spring 2021.
NASA’s SpaceX Demo-2 test flight completed earlier this year was the final demonstration flight of the Crew Dragon. The test flight, along with NASA astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley, is helping validate SpaceX’s crew transportation system, including the launch pad, rocket, spacecraft, and operational capabilities. NASA is working to complete the certification of the Crew Dragon system ahead of the Crew-1 mission.
Hopkins and Glover were assigned to the Crew-1 mission in 2018 and began working and training on SpaceX’s next-generation human spacecraft. Walker and Noguchi joined the crew earlier this year.
Michael Hopkins is the commander of the Crew Dragon and the Crew-1 mission. Hopkins is responsible for all phases of flight, from launch to re-entry. He will also serve as an Expedition 64 flight engineer aboard the station.
Victor Glover is the pilot of the Crew Dragon and second-in-command for the mission. Glover is responsible for spacecraft systems and performance. He also will be a long duration space station crew member. Selected as an astronaut in 2013, this will be his first spaceflight.
Shannon Walker is a mission specialist for Crew-1. As a mission specialist, she will work closely with the commander and pilot to monitor the vehicle during the dynamic launch and re-entry phases of flight. She will also be responsible for monitoring timelines, telemetry, and consumables, like fuel and atmosphere levels. Once aboard the station, Walker will become a flight engineer for Expedition 64.
Soichi Noguchi will also be a mission specialist for Crew-1, working with the commander and pilot to monitor the vehicle during the dynamic launch and re-entry phases of flight, and keeping watch on timelines, telemetry and consumables. Noguchi will also become a long duration crew member aboard the space station.
The commercial crew mission will lift off from Launch Pad 39A on a Falcon 9 rocket. Once in orbit, the crew and SpaceX mission control will monitor a series of automatic maneuvers that will guide the Crew-1 astronauts to their new home in orbit. After approximately one day in orbit, Crew Dragon will be in position to rendezvous and dock with the space station. The spacecraft is designed to dock autonomously with the ability for astronauts aboard the spacecraft to take control and pilot manually, if necessary.
After successfully docking, the astronauts of Crew-1 will be welcomed aboard station by NASA astronaut Kate Rubins and Sergey Ryzhikov and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov of the Russian space agency Roscosmos. For the first time, the space station’s crew will expand to seven people with Expedition 64, increasing the amount of crew time available for research.
The Crew Dragon being used for this flight will remain docked to the station for the full length of a long duration space station expedition, lasting approximately six months. The Crew-1 astronauts will spend their time aboard the International Space Station conducting new and exciting scientific research in areas, such as botany, cancer, and technology.
Radishes will be grown in space. This model plant is nutritious, grows quickly, and is genetically similar to Arabidopsis, a plant frequently studied in microgravity. Findings could help optimize growth of the plants in space as well as provide an assessment of their nutrition and taste. Scientists are leveraging microgravity to tests drugs based on messenger ribonucleic acids (mRNA) for treating leukemia. A new toilet headed to the space station has a number of features that improve on current space toilet operations and help us prepare for future missions, including those to the Moon and Mars.
During their stay on the orbiting laboratory, astronauts of Crew-1 will see a range of unpiloted spacecraft including the Northrop Grumman Cygnus, the next generation of SpaceX cargo Dragon spacecraft, and the Boeing CST-100 Starliner on its uncrewed flight test to the station. They also will conduct a variety of spacewalks and welcome crews of the Russian Soyuz vehicle and the next SpaceX Crew Dragon in 2021.
The Crew-1 mission is a major step for NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. Operational, long duration commercial crew rotation missions will enable NASA to continue the important research and technology investigations taking place onboard the station. Such research benefits people on Earth and lays the groundwork for future exploration of the Moon and Mars starting with the agency’s Artemis program, which will land the first woman and the next man on the lunar surface in 2024.
(Images provided with NASA news release)