Crew-4 NASA astronauts Mission Commander Kjell Lindgren, Pilot Bob Hines, and Mission Specialist Jessica Watkins, and Mission Specialist Samantha Cristoforetti of ESA (European Space Agency) were welcomed by Crew-3 as they showed up to the International Space Station. Credit: NASA
NASA astronauts Mission Commander Kjell Lindgren, Pilot Bob Hines, and Mission Specialist Jessica Watkins, and Mission Specialist Samantha Cristoforetti of ESA (European Space Agency) now are aboard the International Space Station following Crew Dragons hatch opening about 9:15 p.m. EDT, Wednesday, April 27.
SpaceX Dragon Freedom docked to the complex at 7:37 p.m. EDT while the spacecraft were flying about 261 miles above the Pacific Ocean. Following Crew Dragons link to the Harmony module, the astronauts aboard Dragon and the spaceport station conducted standard leakage checks and pressurization between the spacecraft in preparation for the hatch opening.
The SpaceX Dragon Freedom capsule is seen after docking to the International Space Station while the station was orbiting 261 statute miles above the Pacific Ocean. Credit: NASA
Crew-4 joins Expedition 67 team of Raja Chari, Thomas Marshburn, and Kayla Barron, all of NASA, Matthias Maurer of ESA, and cosmonauts Oleg Artemyev, Sergey Korsakov, and Denis Matveev of Roscosmos.
Crew-4 astronauts released to International Space Station at 3:52 a.m. Wednesday, April 27, from Launch Complex 39A at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The international crew of astronauts will act as the 4th commercial team rotation objective aboard the area station, investing a number of months on the orbital complex on a science expedition mission.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the businesss Crew Dragon spacecraft is launched on NASAs SpaceX Crew-4 mission to the International Space Station with NASA astronauts Kjell Lindgren, Robert Hines, Jessica Watkins, and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti onboard, Wednesday, April 27, 2022, at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket moved the Dragon spacecraft into orbit carrying Mission Commander Kjell Lindgren, Pilot Bob Hines, and Mission Specialist Jessica Watkins, all NASA astronauts, and Mission Specialist Samantha Cristoforetti of ESA (European Space Agency). The crew will carry out a science exploration in microgravity aboard the spaceport station.
” Liftoff! The previous couple of days at Kennedy Space Center have actually been motivating and busy with the return of the Axiom team and now the successful launch of Crew-4 astronauts to the International Space Station,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “Aboard station, Kjell, Bob, Jessica, and Samantha will perform research investigations that will help NASA prepare for longer duration remains on the Moon– and ultimately Mars. These objectives would not be possible without the devoted NASA and SpaceX teams here on Earth. Godspeed, Crew-4!”
The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, with the companys Crew Dragon atop, soars up after a 3:52 a.m. EDT liftoff from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Florida for NASAs SpaceX Crew-4 mission on April 27, 2022. Aboard the Dragon are NASA astronauts Kjell Lindgren, Bob Hines, and Jessica Watkins, and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti. Credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
This Crew-4 mission is the very first launch for Hines and Watkins, and the 2nd flight to the station for Lindgren and Cristoforetti. It launched in a brand-new Dragon spacecraft, called Freedom by the team, and a Falcon 9 booster flying its fourth objective into area. This is the fifth SpaceX flight with NASA astronauts– including the Demo-2 test flight in 2020 to the spaceport station– as part of the NASAs Commercial Crew Program.
The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, with the businesss Crew Dragon atop, soars upward after a 3:52 a.m. EDT liftoff from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Florida for NASAs SpaceX Crew-4 objective on April 27, 2022. Credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
Throughout Dragons flight, SpaceX kept track of a series of automatic spacecraft maneuvers from its objective control center in Hawthorne, California, and NASA groups kept an eye on area station operations throughout the flight from the Mission Control Center at the agencys Johnson Space Center in Houston.
Dragon docked autonomously to the space-facing port of the stations Harmony module at 7:37 p.m. on Wednesday, April 27.
” NASA, SpaceX and our worldwide partners have actually worked tirelessly to guarantee that the International Space Station continues carrying out essential research study in microgravity, and dealing with an entire host of activities that benefit humanity and opens up access to more people in area,” said Kathryn Lueders, associate administrator for NASAs Space Operations Mission Directorate in Washington. “Crew-4s launch, less than 2 days after the return of the first all-private objective to station, exhibits the spirit and success of the Commercial Crew Program to help make the most of use of low-Earth orbit for several years to come, testing the technologies we need for the Artemis program and beyond.”
Lindgren, Hines, Watkins, and Cristoforetti will join the space stations Expedition 67 team of Raja Chari, Thomas Marshburn, and Kayla Barron, all NASA astronauts, Matthias Maurer of ESA, and cosmonauts Oleg Artemyev, Sergey Korsakov, and Denis Matveev of Roscosmos. For a brief time, the variety of crew aboard the spaceport station will increase to 11 individuals until Crew-3 astronauts Chari, Marshburn, Barron, and Maurer return to Earth a couple of days later.
Crew-4 is the third commercial team mission to fly an ESA astronaut.
The next flight to the International Space Station has actually introduced! NASAs SpaceX Crew-4 objective provided 4 new crewmembers to the spaceport station and to power the next increment of groundbreaking science research study. Join NASAs Kjell Lindgren, Bob Hines and Jessica Watkins, and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti before launch, for a check out their exploration to low-Earth orbit, and share their enjoyment about the prospect of flying on the Dragon vehicle for the very first time. Credit: NASA
” It provides me terrific satisfaction to see the effective launch of Samantha Cristoforetti and her Crew-4 coworkers. Samantha will take over from Matthias Maurer and continue to represent Europe and support European experiments aboard the spaceport station throughout her mission,” states ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher.
ESA Director of Robotic and human Exploration David Parker includes, “Samantha has actually been an excellent good example– much more so as on the spaceport station she will handle the function of USOS lead, accountable for operations within the U.S. Orbital Segment of the International Space Station, comprising of American, European, Japanese and Canadian modules and components.”
The Crew-4 astronauts will spend a number of months aboard the space station conducting new clinical research in locations such as materials science, health technologies, and plant science to get ready for human expedition beyond low-Earth orbit and to benefit life in the world.
NASA astronaut and SpaceX Crew-4 Commander Kjell Lindgren, representing NASAs Commercial Crew Program, is visualized during a training session inside a mockup of the Crew Dragon automobile at SpaceX Headquarters in Hawthorne, California. Credit: SpaceX
The Crew-4 objective continues NASAs efforts to maintain American management in human spaceflight. Regular, long-duration commercial crew rotation missions allow NASA to continue the important research and technology examinations happening aboard the station. Such research benefits individuals in the world and lays the foundation for future exploration of the Moon and Mars, starting with the firms Artemis objectives, which consists of landing the very first female and person of color on the lunar surface.
Lindgren is leader of the Dragon spacecraft and the Crew-4 mission. This will be Lindgrens 2nd spaceflight considering that ending up being an astronaut in 2009. Board certified in emergency medicine, he previously worked at NASA Johnson as a flight surgeon supporting space station training and operations and served as a deputy crew cosmetic surgeon for area shuttle flight STS-130 and Expedition 24.
Hines is the pilot of the Dragon spacecraft and 2nd in command for the objective. He is accountable for spacecraft systems and performance. Aboard the station, he will serve as an Expedition 67 flight engineer. This will be his first flight given that his selection as an astronaut in 2017. Hines has actually served more than 22 years in the U.S. Air Force as a test pilot, fighter pilot, and trainer pilot. Before his selection in 2017, he was a research study pilot at Johnson.
Watkins is an objective specialist for Crew-4 and will work closely with the leader and pilot to keep an eye on the spacecraft during the dynamic launch and re-entry phases of flight. She likewise was selected as a NASA astronaut in 2017, and this will be her first trip to space.
This will be her 2nd trip to space following 5 months in 2015 as a flight engineer for Expeditions 42 and 43. In 2019, she served as commander for NASAs 23rd Extreme Environment Mission Operations objective on a 10-day stay in Aquarius, the worlds only undersea research station.
The past few days at Kennedy Space Center have actually been inspiring and busy with the return of the Axiom team and now the effective launch of Crew-4 astronauts to the International Space Station,” stated NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, with the businesss Crew Dragon atop, skyrockets upward after a 3:52 a.m. EDT liftoff from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Florida for NASAs SpaceX Crew-4 mission on April 27, 2022. It launched in a new Dragon spacecraft, named Freedom by the team, and a Falcon 9 booster flying its 4th mission into area. NASAs SpaceX Crew-4 objective provided 4 new crewmembers to the space station and to power the next increment of groundbreaking science research. Board licensed in emergency situation medicine, he formerly worked at NASA Johnson as a flight surgeon supporting space station training and operations and served as a deputy team surgeon for space shuttle bus flight STS-130 and Expedition 24.