SpaceX will launch the fifth operational NASA Commercial Crew Program mission (Crew-5) to the International Space Station (ISS) on Wednesday, October 5th. The mission was initially scheduled for October 3rd but Hurricane Ian made landfall in Florida, causing the mission to be delayed by a couple days.
The Crew-5 mission will launch an international crew, including the first Russian cosmonaut that will ride SpaceX’s Crew Dragon as part of a barter agreement between NASA and Roscosmos. NASA astronauts Nicole Mann and Josh Cassada, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Koichi Wakata, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Anna Kikina, arrived at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 12:15 p.m. EDT on Saturday, October 1st. They departed from Ellington Field near the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.
SpaceX Crew-5 astronauts completed a full rehearsal of launch day operations on Sunday, October 2nd. SpaceX performed a static-fire test of the Falcon 9 rocket that will propel the Dragon Endurance spacecraft to orbit from Launch Complex 39A. The company announced the rocket is ready for liftoff after completing the engine ignition test over the weekend. Dragon Endurance is scheduled to dock to the Space Station's Harmony module at 4:57 p.m. EDT on Thursday, October 6. NASA will Livestream the entire mission in the video linked below.
Crew-5, SpaceX, and @NASA completed a full rehearsal of launch day activities pic.twitter.com/NbcefjA7bL
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) October 2, 2022
Static fire test of Falcon 9 complete ahead of the Crew-5 mission to the @space_station
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) October 2, 2022
The Crew-5 mission will be the fifth spaceflight for veteran JAXA astronaut Koichi Wakata and it will be the first spaceflight for Mann, Cassada, and Kikina. Mann will make history as the first Native American in space. "I am very proud to represent Native Americans and my heritage. I think it’s important to celebrate our diversity and also realize how important it is when we collaborate and unite, the incredible accomplishments that we can have,” said NASA astronaut Nicole Mann. “We hope that this will inspire young children throughout the world who come from varying backgrounds; in fact, I hope it inspires adults as well – to follow your dreams, to realize the limitations we had in the past are starting to be broken down and we’re able to achieve things when we work together that perhaps were not possible long ago,” Mann added.
When Crew-5 arrives at the orbiting laboratory, they will participate in a handover ceremony with astronauts from NASA’s SpaceX Crew-4 mission that are currently working at the ISS. Crew-4 astronauts will depart the space station for a splashdown off the coast of Florida next week (see schedule below).
NASA TV SCHEDULE (Eastern Time)
Wednesday, Oct. 5
8:30 a.m. – Coverage of the Launch of NASA's SpaceX Crew Dragon Crew-5 to the International Space Station from the Kennedy Space Center (Launch scheduled at 12 p.m. EDT; coverage of the Crew-5 crew’s trip to the International Space Station will continue uninterrupted through docking and hatch opening on Oct. 6) – Kennedy Space Center/Johnson Space Center/Hawthorne, CA
1:30 p.m. – NASA's SpaceX Crew Dragon Crew-5 Post-Launch News Conference (time subject to change) – Kennedy Space Center
Thursday, Oct. 6
4:57 p.m. – Docking of NASA's SpaceX Crew Dragon Crew-5 Crew to the International Space Station (preceded by continuous coverage of rendezvous activities) – Johnson Space Center/Hawthorne, CA
6:42 p.m. – Opening of the Hatch on NASA's SpaceX Crew Dragon Endurance as the Crew-5 Crew Enters the International Space Station – Johnson Space Center/Hawthorne, CA
8:05 p.m. – Welcoming Remarks by NASA's SpaceX Crew Dragon Crew-5 Crew Aboard the International Space Station – Johnson Space Center
Tuesday, Oct. 11
11:55 a.m. – NASA's SpaceX Crew Dragon Crew-4 Pre-Departure On-Orbit News Conference – Johnson Space Center
Featured Image Source: SpaceX & NASA
About the Author
Evelyn Janeidy Arevalo
Evelyn J. Arevalo joined Tesmanian in 2019 to cover news as a Space Journalist and SpaceX Starbase Texas Correspondent. Evelyn is specialized in rocketry and space exploration. The main topics she covers are SpaceX and NASA.
