A SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft lifted off on March 3, 2024, with three Americans and one Russian for a six-month mission aboard the International Space Station. Ongoing research aboard the orbital laboratory is designed to benefit humans living on and off the Earth. What is learned in orbit also will help NASA prepare for long-term operations on and around the Moon and eventual exploration of Mars.
Four astronaut specialists, four space agencies, four nations launched from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center for a long-term mission aboard the International Space Station. It’s an effort emblematic of America’s growing effort to involve global participation in space exploration. The Crew-7 commander is NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli. Joining her are European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Andreas Mogensen of Denmark, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Satoshi Furukawa and Roscosmos cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov of Russia.
After a nearly six-month science mission aboard the International Space Station, the Crew-5 astronauts returned to Earth splashing down off the coast of Tampa, Florida at 9:02 p.m. EST on March 11, 2023. The Crew Dragon spacecraft autonomously undocked and departed the orbiting laboratory returning the four crew members and time-sensitive research samples.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket has launched another diverse crew of astronauts for a six-month stay aboard the International Space Station. The company’s Crew Dragon spacecraft lifted off into the pre-dawn sky from Launch Complex 39A at NASA‘s Kennedy Space Center on March 2, 2023. The Crew-6 mission includes two NASA astronauts: mission commander Stephen Bowen and pilot Woody Hoburg. They were joined by mission specialists Sultan Alneyadi of the United Arab Emirates and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev of Russia.
Capped by the highly successful Artemis I mission, 2022 was a landmark year for NASA. Groundbreaking research continued in Earth orbit, a new human-rated spacecraft circled the Moon, robotic exploration of Mars reached important milestones and the agency’s newest telescope revealed never-before seen images of the universe.
Another diverse crew of astronauts has launched from NASA‘s Kennedy Space Center for an extended stay aboard the International Space Station. A SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft streaked into the night sky atop the company’s Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at the Florida Spaceport.
After more than six months aboard the International Space Station, the Crew 2 astronauts splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Pensacola, Florida at 10:33 p.m. EST on Nov. 8, 2021. Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur of NASA were aboard the Crew Dragon spacecraft with Aki Hoshide of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and the European Space Agency’s Thomas Pesquet of France.
After 168 days in space, NASA astronauts Mike Hopkins, Victor Glover and Shannon Walker, along with Soichi Noguchi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA, returned to Earth landing in pre-dawn darkness at 2:56 a.m. EDT on May 2, 2021 completing the Crew-1 mission. Liftoff atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket took place Nov. 15, 2021, from the agency’s Kennedy Space Center.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 streaked into the early morning sky from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center launching four astronauts to the International Space Station. The Crew-2 mission is the first to fly two astronauts from other nations as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program. Liftoff of the Falcon 9 rocket took place at 5:49 a.m. EDT April 23, 2021.
The SpaceX Crew-1 spacecraft arrived at the International Space Station on Nov. 16, 2020 with NASA astronauts Mike Hopkins, Victor Glover, Shannon Walker, and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Soichi Noguchi. Their arrival continues two decades of work by astronauts from around the world living and working aboard the orbiting laboratory.