A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the companys Crew Dragon spacecraft onboard is seen on the launch pad at Launch Complex 39A throughout a quick static fire test ahead of NASAs SpaceX Crew-4 mission, Wednesday, April 20, 2022, at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASAs SpaceX Crew-4 mission is the 4th team rotation mission of the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket to the International Space Station as part of the agencys Commercial Crew Program. NASA astronauts Kjell Lindgren, Robert Hines, Jessica Watkins, and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti are arranged to release on April 23 at 5:26 a.m. EDT, from Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center. Credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky
The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, with Crew Dragon atop, rolled out to the launch pad on April 19, at Kennedy Space Center in Florida in preparation for NASAs Crew-4 launch. The rocket is now in a vertical position at Kennedys Launch Pad 39A and underwent a successful dry dress practice session in the early morning hours of April 20 with the launch team and crewmembers.
The mission will bring NASA astronauts Kjell Lindgren, Robert Hines, and Jessica Watkins, and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti, to the International Space Station for their prepared science objective. This is the very first spaceflight for Hines and Watkins and the second flight for Lindgren and Cristoforetti.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the businesss Crew Dragon spacecraft onboard is seen at daybreak on the launch pad at Launch Complex 39A as preparations continue for the Crew-4 mission, Wednesday, April 20, 2022, at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASAs SpaceX Crew-4 objective is the 4th crew rotation mission of the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket to the International Space Station as part of the companys Commercial Crew Program. Credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky
Upon their arrival, the Crew-4 astronauts will have a brief overlap with NASA astronauts Raja Chari, Tom Marshburn, and Kayla Barron, and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Matthias Maurer, who flew to the station as part of the firms SpaceX Crew-3 mission in November 2021. Also on board are Roscosmos cosmonauts Oleg Artemyev, Denis Matveev, and Sergey Korsakov who flew to the station on a Soyuz spacecraft on March 18, 2022, Expedition 66 Commander Anton Shkaplerov and cosmonaut Pyotr Dubrov.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the businesss Crew Dragon spacecraft onboard is seen on the launch pad at Launch Complex 39A during a quick static fire test ahead of NASAs SpaceX Crew-4 mission, Wednesday, April 20, 2022, at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the companys Crew Dragon spacecraft onboard is seen at daybreak on the launch pad at Launch Complex 39A as preparations continue for the Crew-4 objective, Wednesday, April 20, 2022, at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is vertical with the companys Crew Dragon atop for NASAs SpaceX Crew-4 objective at Launch Pad 39A at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida on April 19, 2022.
The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is vertical with the businesss Crew Dragon atop for NASAs SpaceX Crew-4 mission at Launch Pad 39A at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida on April 19, 2022. Launch is targeted for 5:26 a.m. EDT from Pad 39A.
The objective will fly a new Crew Dragon, which team members have actually named Freedom. Mission Commander Lindgren tweeted the significance of the name: “The name celebrates an essential human right, and the industry and development that emanate from the unencumbered human spirit.” The spacecrafts name likewise recalls Freedom 7, the spacecraft that brought Alan Shepard as the first American introduced into area on May 5, 1961, aboard NASAs Mercury-Redstone 3.