SpaceX Crew-6

SpaceX Crew-6
Endeavour launches to the ISS with Crew-6 onboard
NamesUSCV-6
Mission typeISS crew transport
OperatorSpaceX
COSPAR ID2023-027A Edit this at Wikidata
SATCAT no.55740Edit this on Wikidata
Mission duration185 days, 22 hours, 43 minutes
Spacecraft properties
SpacecraftCrew Dragon Endurance
Spacecraft typeCrew Dragon
ManufacturerSpaceX
Launch mass12,519 kg (27,600 lb)
Landing mass9,616 kg (21,200 lb)
Crew
Crew size4
Members
ExpeditionExpedition 68 / 69
Start of mission
Launch date2 March 2023, 05:34:14 (2 March 2023, 05:34:14) UTC (12:34:14 pm EDT)[1][2][3]
RocketFalcon 9 Block 5 (B1078.1), Flight 207
Launch siteKennedy, LC‑39A
End of mission
Recovered byMV Megan
Landing date4 September 2023, 04:17:23 (4 September 2023, 04:17:23) UTC[4] (12:17:23 am EDT)
Landing siteAtlantic Ocean, near Jacksonville, Florida (30°54′N 80°18′W / 30.9°N 80.3°W / 30.9; -80.3)[4]
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric orbit
RegimeLow Earth orbit
Inclination51.66°
Docking with ISS
Docking portHarmony zenith
Docking date3 March 2023, 06:40 UTC
Undocking date6 May 2023, 11:23 UTC
Time docked64 days, 4 hours, 43 minutes
Docking with ISS (relocation)
Docking portHarmony forward
Docking date6 May 2023, 12:01 UTC
Undocking date3 September 2023, 11:05 UTC
Time docked119 days, 23 hours, 4 minutes

Mission patch

From left: Al Neyadi, Hoburg, Bowen and Fedyaev

SpaceX Crew-6 was the sixth crewed operational NASA Commercial Crew flight of a Crew Dragon spacecraft, and the ninth overall crewed orbital flight. The mission launched on 2 March 2023 at 05:34:14 UTC, and it successfully docked to the International Space Station (ISS) on 3 March 2023 at 06:40 UTC. The Crew-6 mission transported four crew members to the International Space Station (ISS). Two NASA astronauts, a United Arab Emirates astronaut, and a Russian cosmonaut were assigned to the mission. The two NASA astronauts are Stephen Bowen and Warren Hoburg.[5] The cosmonaut, Andrey Fedyaev, was reassigned from Soyuz MS-23. Sultan Al Neyadi was the commander of the United Arab Emirates' mission on the flight.

Crew

[edit]

On 24 March 2022, the European Space Agency announced that Danish astronaut Andreas Mogensen would serve as backup pilot.[6] On 29 April 2022, the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) and Axiom Space announced that Crew-6 will also include an astronaut from the United Arab Emirates.[7]

MBRSC participation in this mission resulted from a 2021 agreement between NASA and Axiom to fly a NASA astronaut, Mark T. Vande Hei, onboard Soyuz MS-18 (launch) and Soyuz MS-19 (return) in order to ensure a continuing American presence on board the ISS. In return, Axiom received the rights to a NASA owned seat onboard SpaceX Crew-6. Axiom provided the flight opportunity to MBRSC professional crew members through an agreement with the United Arab Emirates Space Agency.[8] Later, the astronaut was confirmed to be Sultan Al Neyadi.[9]

Andrey Fedyaev was selected in July 2022 for this mission as a part of the Soyuz-Dragon crew swap system of keeping at least one NASA astronaut and one Roscosmos cosmonaut on each of the crew rotation missions.[10] This ensures both countries have a presence on the station, and the ability to maintain their separate systems if either Soyuz or commercial crew vehicles are grounded for an extended period.[11]

Prime crew
Position Astronaut
Commander United States Stephen Bowen, NASA
Expedition 68 / 69
Fourth spaceflight
Pilot United States Warren Hoburg, NASA
Expedition 68 / 69
First spaceflight
Mission Specialist 1 United Arab Emirates Sultan Al Neyadi, MBRSC
Expedition 68 / 69
First spaceflight
Mission Specialist 2 Russia Andrey Fedyaev, Roscosmos
Expedition 68 / 69
First spaceflight
Backup crew
Position Astronaut
Commander United States Jasmin Moghbeli, NASA
Pilot Denmark Andreas Mogensen, ESA
Mission Specialist 1 United Arab Emirates Hazza Al Mansouri, MBRSC[12]
Mission Specialist 2 Russia Konstantin Borisov, Roscosmos

Mission

[edit]

The sixth SpaceX operational mission in the Commercial Crew Program (CCP) was launched on 2 March 2023 and lasted approximately six months. The mission was scheduled to launch early on 27 February 2023. However, the initial attempt was scrubbed and rescheduled for 2 March 2023 at 5:34 am UTC.[1][2][3] The second launch attempt was successful.

Alongside Crew-6, the Dragon capsule is designed to be able to bring back the Soyuz MS-22 crew if necessary, serving as an emergency evacuation, as was Crew-5. Roscosmos elected to launch Soyuz MS-23 without a crew to return the MS-22 crew instead of using this capability.[13]

Launch attempt

[edit]

The first launch attempt was scrubbed at T−02:12 minutes due to an issue with the TEA-TEB spontaneous ignition fluid (times are UTC).[14]

Attempt Planned Result Turnaround Reason Decision point Weather go (%) Notes
1 27 Feb 2023, 6:45:03 am Scrubbed — Technical 27 Feb 2023, 6:43 am ​(T−2:12) 95[15] TEA-TEB ignitor issue. Rocket launch failure risk (wrong ignition or premature engine cutoff).
2 2 Mar 2023, 5:34:14 am Success 2 days 22 hours 49 minutes 95[16]
[edit]
SpaceX Crew-6
  • Crew-6 astronauts prior to launch
    Crew-6 astronauts prior to launch
  • Crew-6 launch
    Crew-6 launch
  • Crew-6 approaching the ISS
    Crew-6 approaching the ISS
  • Crew Dragon Endeavour after splashdown
    Crew Dragon Endeavour after splashdown

References

[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to SpaceX Crew-6.
  1. ^ a b Clark, Stephen (13 January 2023). "Launch Schedule". Spaceflight Now. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
  2. ^ a b Cawley, James (27 February 2023). "NASA, SpaceX Look to March 2 for Next Available Crew-6 Launch Attempt". NASA. Retrieved 27 February 2023. ... NASA and SpaceX will forgo a launch opportunity on Tuesday, Feb. 28, due to unfavorable weather forecast conditions. The next available launch attempt is at 12:34 a.m. EST Thursday, March 2, pending resolution of the technical issue preventing Monday's launch. ...
  3. ^ a b Wall, Mike (27 February 2023). "SpaceX scrubs Crew-6 astronaut launch due to ignition-fluid issue". Space.com. Retrieved 27 February 2023. ... The next launch opportunity comes on Thursday (March 2) at 12:34 a.m. EST (0534 GMT); weather on Tuesday (Feb. 28), the first possible opportunity before that, is not favorable for launch ...
  4. ^ a b McDowell, Jonathan (25 September 2023). "Jonathan's Space Report No. 824". Retrieved 25 October 2024.
  5. ^ Potter, Sean (16 December 2021). "Two Astronauts Receive Assignments for NASA's SpaceX Crew-6 Mission". NASA. Retrieved 17 December 2021. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  6. ^ Human Spaceflight [@esaspaceflight] (24 March 2022). "@YannickJungman3 @Astro_Andreas @Space_Station @SpaceX @esa @UFM_MIN @DTUtweet @AschbacherJosef Pilot for Crew-7, and backup pilot for Crew-6. More in the article here: https://t.co/LZhraeIRA7" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 15 October 2022. Retrieved 25 March 2023 – via Twitter.
  7. ^ "Emirati astronaut set for six-month mission to International Space Station". 29 April 2022. Retrieved 29 April 2022.
  8. ^ "Axiom Space and the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Center Sign Agreement for UAE Astronaut to Fly on the ISS in 2023". 29 April 2022. Retrieved 29 April 2022.
  9. ^ "UAE's Sultan Al Neyadi to be first Arab astronaut to spend 6 months on ISS". 25 July 2022. Retrieved 25 July 2022.
  10. ^ Wattles, Jackie; Pavlova, Uliana (15 July 2022). "SpaceX rockets to fly Russian cosmonauts with new NASA deal". CNN.com. CNN. Retrieved 16 July 2022. Andrei Fedyaev will fly on another SpaceX mission in the spring of 2023, according to NASA.
  11. ^ "Rogozin says Crew Dragon safe for Russian cosmonauts". SpaceNews. 26 October 2021. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
  12. ^ "UAE's first astronaut to serve as backup on Sultan Al Neyadi's 6-month mission to ISS". Zawya. 25 September 2022.
  13. ^ Expedition 68 NASA's SpaceX Crew-6 Leaders Discuss Mission - Jan. 25, 2023. NASA Video. 25 January 2023. Archived from the original on 14 February 2023. Retrieved 25 March 2023 – via YouTube.
  14. ^ "Shortly before liftoff, SpaceX cancels a crew launch due to igniter issues – Ars Technica". 27 February 2023. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
  15. ^ NASA Commercial Crew [@Commercial_Crew] (27 February 2023). "Weather officials with the Cape Canaveral @SpaceForceDoD 45th Weather Squadron continue to predict a 95% chance of favorable weather conditions for launch" (Tweet). Retrieved 25 March 2023 – via Twitter.
  16. ^ SpaceX [@SpaceX] (1 March 2023). "Weather is 95% favorable for liftoff, but teams are keeping an eye on weather along Dragon's ascent corridor" (Tweet). Retrieved 25 March 2023 – via Twitter.
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