SpaceX Crew-5

SpaceX Crew-5 is planned to be the fifth crewed operational NASA Commercial Crew flight of a Crew Dragon spacecraft, and the eighth overall crewed orbital flight. The mission is planned for launch in September 2022 and is due to transport four crew members to the International Space Station (ISS). As of December 2021, two NASA astronauts, one JAXA astronaut, and one Russian cosmonaut have been assigned to the mission. Three of the currently assigned crew members were assigned following delays to Boeing's Starliner programme. Commander Nicole Mann was reassigned to the flight from Boeing's Boe-CFT mission, while Pilot Josh Cassada and Mission Specialist Koichi Wakata transferred from Boeing Starliner-1.[1][2] Anna Kikina was reassigned from Soyuz MS-22. Three of the four crew members would be making their first space flight, the exception being Koichi Wakata who is a veteran with multiple previous flights.

SpaceX Crew-5
Artists' impression of a Crew Dragon approaching the forward port of Harmony on the ISS.
NamesUSCV-5
Mission typeISS crew transport
OperatorSpaceX
Mission duration180 days (planned)
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
Start of mission
Launch dateSeptember 2022 (planned) [1]
RocketFalcon 9 Block 5
Launch siteKennedy Space Center, LC-39A
ContractorSpaceX
End of mission
Landing dateMarch 2023 (planned)
Landing siteAtlantic Ocean
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric orbit
RegimeLow Earth orbit
Inclination51.66°
Docking with ISS
Docking portHarmony forward
Docking dateSeptember 2022 (planned)
Undocking dateDecember 2022 (planned)
Time docked90–120 days (planned)
 

However, continued international collaboration on ISS missions has been thrown into doubt by the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine and related sanctions on Russia.[3]

Crew

This might be the first Crew Dragon mission to fly a Russian cosmonaut, Anna Kikina, and thus be 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. 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.[4] This could become the first time a Russian cosmonaut flies on a U.S. spacecraft since Nikolai Budarin who flew upon STS-113.

But, if the exchange doesn't start for this flight, Jeanette Epps is expected to make her first flight on Crew-5.[5]

Prime crew
Position Astronaut
Spacecraft commander Nicole Aunapu Mann, NASA
Expedition 67 / 68
First spaceflight
Pilot Josh A. Cassada, NASA
Expedition 67/68
First spaceflight
Mission Specialist 1 Koichi Wakata, JAXA
Expedition 67/68
Fifth spaceflight
Mission Specialist 2 TBA
Expedition 67/68
Backup crew
Position Astronaut
Spacecraft commander TBA, NASA
Pilot TBA, NASA
Mission Specialist 1 TBA
Mission Specialist 2 TBA

Mission

The fifth SpaceX operational mission in the Commercial Crew Program (CCP) is scheduled to launch in September 2022.[1]

See also

References
  1. "NASA Announces Astronaut Changes for Upcoming Commercial Crew Missions" (Press release). NASA. 6 October 2021. Retrieved 6 October 2021. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  2. @jaxa_wdc (12 October 2021). "JAXA has announced their WAKATA Koichi @Astro_Wakata is headed for the International Space Station aboard SpaceX's…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  3. Witze, Alexandra (11 March 2022). "Russia's invasion of Ukraine is redrawing the geopolitics of space". Nature. doi:10.1038/d41586-022-00727-x. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
  4. "Rogozin says Crew Dragon safe for Russian cosmonauts". SpaceNews. 26 October 2021. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
  5. Marc [@marcdrnl] (2 March 2022). "Just a reminder, if the Seat Exchange program didn't start this fall (MS-22/Crew-5), the 4th seat of Crew-5 will normally be for Epps. This picture is from mid-November 2021, and Epps is in training with the astronauts already assign to Crew-5 : Mann, Cassada and Wakata" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
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