SpaceX Crew-4 was the Crew Dragon's fourth NASA Commercial Crew operational flight, and its seventh overall crewed orbital flight. The mission launched on 27 April 2022 at 07:52 UTC[6] before docking with the International Space Station (ISS) at 23:37 UTC. It followed shortly after the private Axiom 1 mission to the ISS earlier in the month utilizing SpaceX hardware. Three American (NASA) astronauts and one European (ESA) astronaut were on board the mission.[7][8][9]
Crew-4 was the maiden flight of the Crew Dragon spacecraft named Freedom, named such by the crew because it "celebrates a fundamental human right, and the industry and innovation that emanate from the unencumbered human spirit".[10] The booster used on this mission was the B1067, which makes it the first Commercial Crew mission to use a booster on its fourth flight (it previously was used to launch SpaceX Crew-3 in 2021).[11]
Crew
NASA astronauts Kjell Lindgren and Robert Hines were announced on 12 February 2021 to the crew.[7][8] Samantha Cristoforetti was named the commander of Expedition 68 on 28 May 2021.[12] Jessica Watkins was named mission specialist on 16 November 2021.[13] Cristoforetti was later removed as commander of Expedition 68 due to the shortening of the Crew-4 mission.[14]
Position | Astronaut | |
---|---|---|
Commander | ![]() Expedition 67 / 68 Second spaceflight | |
Pilot | ![]() Expedition 67 / 68 First spaceflight | |
Mission Specialist 1 | ![]() Expedition 67 / 68 Second spaceflight | |
Mission Specialist 2 | ![]() Expedition 67 / 68 First spaceflight |
Position[15] | Astronaut | |
---|---|---|
Commander | ![]() |
Mission
The mission duration was 170 days.[4] The European part of the mission was called Minerva,[16] named after the Roman goddess of wisdom,[17] and it was European astronaut Cristoforetti's second mission to the ISS.
Gallery
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Crew-4 astronauts before flight
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ISS configuration during Crew-4
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Crew-4 and Starliner OFT-2 docked to the ISS
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Freedom after reentry and splashdown
See also
References
- ^ Sheetz, Michael (27 April 2022). "SpaceX launches Crew-4 mission for NASA, has now sent 26 astronauts to space in under two years". CNBC. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
- ^ NASA (2022). "Crew-4 Mission Overview" (PDF). NASA. p. 1. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
Crew-4 is scheduled for a long duration stay of up to six months aboard station conducting science and maintenance before returning to Earth in the fall of 2022.
- ^ Garcia, Mark (27 April 2022). "SpaceX Crew-4 Launches to Join Station Crew Tonight". NASA. Retrieved 28 April 2022.
- ^ a b Garcia, Mark (14 October 2022). "SpaceX Crew-4 Returns with Splashdown on Florida's Atlantic Coast". NASA. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
- ^ Wall, Mike (14 October 2022). "SpaceX's Crew-4 mission leaves space station and heads for home". space.com. Retrieved 14 October 2022.
Crew-4's Dragon capsule, named Freedom, undocked from the International Space Station (ISS) on Friday (Oct. 14) at 12:05 p.m. EDT (1605 GMT)
- ^ Griffin, Amanda (22 April 2022). "NASA and SpaceX Adjust Agency's Crew-4 Launch Date". NASA. Retrieved 23 April 2022.
- ^ a b Finch, Joshua (25 April 2022). "Coverage Updated for NASA's SpaceX Crew-4 Briefing, Events, Broadcast". nasa.gov. NASA. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ^ a b Howell, Elizabeth (23 February 2021). "These 2 NASA astronauts will fly on SpaceX's Crew-4 mission to the International Space Station in 2022". Space.com. Retrieved 23 February 2021.
- ^ Ellis, Kathleen (18 March 2022). "NASA, SpaceX Adjust Target Launch Date for Crew-4 Mission". nasa.gov. NASA. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
- ^ Klotz, Irene (6 October 2021). "Forum - Crew-4". NASASpaceFlight.com. p. 2. Retrieved 30 October 2021.
- ^ @jeff_foust (19 January 2022). "Steve Stich says the Crew-4 flight will be the first commercial crew mission using a booster on its fourth flight" (Tweet). Retrieved 19 January 2022 – via Twitter.
- ^ "Commanding role for ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti". ESA. 28 May 2021. Retrieved 28 May 2021.
- ^ "NASA Assigns Astronaut Jessica Watkins to NASA's SpaceX Crew-4 Mission". NASA. 16 November 2021. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ^ "Revised flight plan brings change for Samantha". ESA. 2 March 2021. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
- ^ "Stephen G. Bowen (Captain, USN, Ret.) NASA Astronaut". NASA. 26 April 2021. Retrieved 28 May 2021.
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ^ "Minerva: ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti's second mission to the International Space Station". esa.int. ESA. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
- ^ "Minerva patch explained". European Space Agency. 3 March 2022. Retrieved 28 April 2022.
Inspired by the Roman goddess of wisdom, the handicrafts and the arts, the name Minerva is a homage to the competence and sophisticated craftmanship of the men and women all over the world who make human spaceflight possible.