The four SpaceX Crew-7 members pose for a portrait in their pressure suits. From left are, Jasmin Moghbeli, Andreas Mogensen, Satoshi Furukawa, and Konstantin Borisov. Credit: SpaceX
NASA Television and the agency’s website are providing live continuous coverage of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-7 mission carrying NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Andreas Mogensen, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Satoshi Furukawa, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov on their way to the International Space Station.
The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft, named Endurance, is scheduled to dock about 9:05 a.m. Dragon is designed to dock autonomously, but the crew aboard the spacecraft and the space station will monitor the performance of the spacecraft as it approaches and docks to the space-facing port of the station’s Harmony module.
When the hatches open, the Crew-7 astronauts will join the Expedition 69 crew of NASA astronauts Stephen Bowen, Woody Hoburg, and Frank Rubio, as well as UAE astronaut (United Arab Emirates) astronaut Sultan Alneyadi, and Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev, Dmitri Petelin, and Andrey Fedyaev. For a short time, the number of crew aboard the space station will increase to 11 people until Crew-6 members Bowen, Hoburg, Alneyadi, and Fedyaev return to Earth a few days later.
NASA’s SpaceX Crew-7 Launches to International Space Station
An international crew of four representing four countries is in orbit following a successful launch to the International Space Station at 3:27 a.m. EDT Saturday, Aug. 26, from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The agency’s SpaceX Crew-7 mission is the seventh commercial crew rotation mission for NASA.
Station Unloads New Cargo and Waits One Day for Next Crew
The Moon is pictured above the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the Dragon Endurance spacecraft on top at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky
The International Space Station welcomed a new cargo craft overnight as mission managers postponed the launch of the SpaceX Crew-7 mission for 24 hours. The Expedition 69 crew members have begun unpacking the new cargo while servicing a variety of science equipment aboard the orbital lab.
Cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin went to bed Friday mid-afternoon after monitoring the Roscosmos Progress 85 resupply ship as it docked to the Zvezda service module’s aft port at 11:45 p.m. EDT on Thursday. The duo worked through leak and pressure checks, opened the Progress 85 hatch, then spent the next several hours offloading some of the nearly three tons of food, fuel, and supplies to replenish the lab residents.
As the Roscosmos resupply ship approached the station, four SpaceX Crew-7 crew members in Florida were informed their launch to join the Expedition 69 crew would wait one more day. Liftoff of the SpaceX Dragon Endurance spacecraft atop the company’s Falcon 9 rocket is now scheduled for 3:27 a.m. EDT on Saturday from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. Mission managers decided to use the extra day to review Dragon’s safety and life support systems.
Crew-7 Commander Jasmin Moghbeli will lead Pilot Andreas Mogensen of ESA (European Space Agency) and Mission Specialists Satoshi Furukawa of JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) and Konstantin Borisov of Roscosmos, during their flight to the station. The Commercial Crew quartet aboard Endurance will automatically dock to the Harmony module’s space-facing port at 8:39 a.m. on Sunday. Soon after, the foursome will enter the station, greet the Expedition 69 crew, and begin a six-month microgravity research mission.
Meanwhile, the seven station crew members orbiting Earth are all but ready to welcome their four new crewmates. While the two cosmonauts were wrapping up Progress 85 activities and getting ready for bed, the other five lab residents worked on advanced research hardware and investigated ways to treat heart ailments.
Progress Cargo Craft Docks to Station Replenishing Crew
The Progress 85 cargo craft is pictured from the International Space Station approaching the Zvezda service module for a docking. Credit: NASA TV
An uncrewed Roscosmos Progress 85 spacecraft arrived at the International Space Station’s aft port of the Zvezda service module at 11:45 p.m. EDT. The spacecraft launched on a Soyuz rocket at 9:08 p.m. EDT Tuesday, Aug. 22 (6:08 a.m. Baikonur time on Aug. 23) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
Progress is delivering almost three tons of food, fuel, and supplies to the International Space Station for the Expedition 69 crew.
The spacecraft will remain at the orbiting laboratory for approximately six months, then undock for a destructive but safe re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere to dispose of trash loaded by the crew.
