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With the launch simply weeks away, SpaceX, NASA, and their worldwide companions are in last preparations for the fifth operational Crew Dragon mission. As a part of NASA’s Business Crew Program (CCP), Crew-5 will probably be SpaceX’s fifth long-duration crew mission, eighth general crewed mission, and the primary mission with a Russian Cosmonaut.
Crew-5 will launch from the Kennedy House Heart (KSC) utilizing a brand-new Falcon 9 and flight-proven Crew Dragon. The mission will launch from the historic Launch Complicated 39A (LC-39A) on Oct. 3, 2022, at 12:45 PM EDT (16:45 UTC).
The crew will encompass an almost all-rookie crew, with solely a single astronaut having flown on a earlier mission. NASA astronaut Nicole Anuapu Mann will act because the spacecraft commander, making her the primary lady to command Crew Dragon, and Josh Cassada will act because the spacecraft pilot. Earlier than being assigned to Crew-5, Mann was to fly the Starliner Crew Flight Check (CFT) and Cassada on the primary operational Starliner flight. With Starliner’s persevering with delays, the 2 have been reassigned to Crew-5 to permit each of them to realize flight expertise.
JAXA astronaut Koichi Wakata and Roscosmos cosmonaut Anna Kikina will probably be becoming a member of the crew as Mission Specialists. Wakata will make his fifth spaceflight and fourth general mission to the ISS. On the STS-92 and Expedition 18/19/20 missions, he turned the primary Japanese astronaut to work on the meeting of the ISS and full a long-duration keep.
Crew-5 Astronauts at LC-39A, from left to proper: Josh Cassada, Anna Kikina, Nicole Mann, and Koichi Wakata. (Credit score: SpaceX)
As the primary cosmonaut to fly on Crew Dragon, Kikina is part of the primary US-Russia crew swap. In change for the experience on Dragon, NASA astronaut Francisco Rubio will fly on Soyuz MS-22, which is able to launch to the ISS in September 2022. Crew-5 would be the first mission since STS-113 to have a cosmonaut fly on a US spacecraft.
NASA and Roscomos authorised the crew swap in July 2022 together with a swap between Soyuz MS-23 and Crew-6. These missions will launch in Spring 2023.
Crew-5 comes simply weeks after NASA introduced they awarded SpaceX 5 further CCP flights. In early 2022, NASA awarded three further missions for as much as Crew-9. Just a few months later, NASA awarded 5 extra flights, bringing SpaceX as much as 14 missions with flights by means of Crew-14. Between Dragon and Starliner, these additional flights will give NASA uninterrupted flights to the ISS till it reaches the top of its life in 2030.
The primary stage, B1077-1, will make its first flight on Crew-5, marking the third Falcon 9 booster to be launched in 2022. B1077 will observe B1071 and B1073, which have been launched on the NROL-87 and Starlink Group 4-15 missions, respectively. The booster accomplished its long-duration scorching fireplace in McGregor Texas in August of this 12 months. Nonetheless, earlier than reaching McGregor, the booster hit a bridge throughout transportation from Hawthorne, California.
Fortunately, the one injury to B1077 was minor injury to the interstage. Out of warning, SpaceX changed the interstage, and testing went as deliberate. The booster was then transported to KSC to help Crew-5 on Sept. 7, 2022.
This would be the first time since SpaceX Crew-1 {that a} new booster has supported a crewed mission. Different current crewed missions have utilized boosters with as much as 5 earlier flights.
In SpaceX’s present fleet of 4 Crew Dragons, Endurance is comparatively new, having solely flown on the SpaceX Crew-3 mission in November 2021. After reaching the ISS, it remained in orbit for 177 days earlier than safely splashing down within the Gulf of Mexico. It was then recovered by SpaceX’s restoration ship Shannon, which secured the Dragon and returned it to Port Canaveral.
As soon as again in Port Canaveral, preparations started to examine and refurbish Endurance for Crew-5. Throughout refurbishment, SpaceX checked practically all components of the spacecraft to make sure readiness for one more flight. Throughout these inspections, SpaceX noticed minor injury to the parachute cover; nonetheless, it was nicely inside parameters and won’t add any further threat to the crew.
SpaceX accomplished a normal set of assessments for the warmth protect. Throughout these assessments, a brand new warmth protect composite construction didn’t go acceptance testing, resulting in using a unique construction.
Dragon’s 4 forward-facing Draco thrusters and inside window panes will probably be flight-proven for this flight.
As part of the refurbishment process, SpaceX changed a number of elements, together with the parachutes, pod panels, and Dragon’s thermal safety system. General, this refurbishment course of went shortly, as Endurance will break the file for the quickest turnaround time at 150 days.
After finishing refurbishment on Endurance, SpaceX moved the spacecraft to a processing facility at Cape Canaveral House Drive Station (CCSFS) to undergo a last check marketing campaign. As soon as full, SpaceX will mate Endurance to an unpressurized truck part, earlier than transferring the finished stack to the Horizontal Integration Facility (HIF) at LC-39A.
Falcon 9 (B1062-5) launches Axiom-1 in April 2022. (Credit score: Nathan Barker for NSF/L2)
Within the HIF, B1077 may have its second stage put in and positioned on the Strongback Transporter Erector (T/E). The finished Dragon will probably be positioned onto the second stage, creating the complete Falcon 9 stack.
The T/E at LC-39A could be configured for a Falcon 9 with a payload fairing or Dragon spacecraft, in addition to Falcon Heavy (with a payload fairing). LC-39A not too long ago supported the Starlink Group 4-2 & BlueWalker 3 mission utilizing gear to help a payload fairing. Earlier than Crew-5, SpaceX will configure the T/E to help Crew Dragon.
As soon as all preparations, modifications, and testing are full, the T/E will roll out Falcon 9 to the pad and start extra testing. These assessments will culminate in a static fireplace check, the place SpaceX will undergo the countdown with out the crew.
Throughout the static fireplace, the launch groups will work by means of a launch-day countdown, together with fueling Falcon 9 and check firing all 9 of its first stage engines for a number of seconds. This check will happen a number of days earlier than launch.
The crew will full a “dry gown” rehearsal earlier than the static fireplace. This rehearsal takes your entire launch staff and crew for a whole countdown with out fueling the rocket. The dry gown will embrace:
- Suiting up.
- Transporting to the pad.
- Boarding Dragon.
- Going by means of a mock fueling and last countdown to the launch.
- Launch and pad groups practising evacuation procedures.
These last assessments will culminate within the Flight Readiness Evaluate (FRR) and Launch Readiness Evaluate (LRR). The FRR may have SpaceX, NASA, all worldwide companions, and vital personnel give the ultimate approval for the flight. SpaceX and NASA will full the LRR earlier than launch to make sure the groups are able to help the launch.
Launch day will observe like some other crewed Dragon launch. Just a few hours earlier than launch, the crew will don their fits and depart to LC-39A in modified Tesla Mannequin X autos.
At T-45 minutes, the SpaceX launch director will ballot the groups to present the “go” for launch operations. The Crew Entry Arm (CAA) will retract, and SpaceX will arm Endurance’s SuperDraco abort system.
Crew Dragon Endurance backs away from the ISS close to the conclusion of the Crew-3 mission. (Credit score: NASA)
Following its Oct. 3 launch, Dragon Endurance will method the ISS, performing an automatic docking to the Ahead port of the Node-2/Concord module. As soon as sending Dragon to house, B1077 will try and land on certainly one of SpaceX’s Autonomous Spaceport Drone Ships. Pending a profitable restoration, it’ll be part of the 12 different boosters within the energetic fleet.
To arrange for Crew-5, Cargo Dragon C208-3 departed the ISS on Aug. 19, undocking from the Ahead port after a month on the orbiting lab.
As soon as docked with the station, Dragon and its crew will stay on the ISS for about six months. They are going to be part of the Expedition 67/68 crew, elevating the ISS’ inhabitants to 11. Crew-5 will work with Crew-4 for a direct handover to switch operations to Crew-5, permitting Crew-4 to depart by way of Dragon Freedom and return to Earth, lowering the inhabitants to seven.
On the station, Crew-5 will see a number of autos visiting the ISS. For US autos, Northrop Grumman’s NG-18 Cygnus spacecraft will attain the ISS in October to resupply the station with cargo and science. In November, SpaceX will launch its new Cargo Dragon C211 on the CRS-26 mission to ship science and two extra iROSA photo voltaic arrays.
In NET Spring 2023, Boeing will launch its CFT mission for its crewed demonstration mission.
(Lead picture: Crew-5 Astronauts stand in entrance of a Falcon 9 first-stage booster. Credit score: SpaceX)
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