Raumfahrt+Astronomie-Blog von CENAP - Blog: Raumfahrt - NASA, SpaceX announce date for next flight of astronauts from Kennedy Space Center

SpaceX's next launch with astronauts onboard is scheduled no earlier than Oct. 23 from pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center, NASA announced Friday afternoon.

This will mark the first operational flight with astronauts for SpaceX's Crew Dragon capsule and Falcon 9 rocket, following certification of the company's Demonstration 2 mission which sent astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley to the International Space Station in May.

Called the Crew-1 mission, SpaceX will send NASA astronauts Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover and Shannon Walker as well as Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency or JAXA astronaut Soichi Noguchi to stay on the ISS for a six-month science mission.

Hopkins will serve as Crew Dragon commander, Glover will be the pilot and Walker and Noguchi will serve as mission specialists for the flight.

Crew-1 was originally scheduled to launch sometime late-September, but was pushed back to "accommodate spacecraft traffic for the upcoming Soyuz crew rotation," according to NASA's press release.

NASA astronaut Kate Rubins and Russian cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov are scheduled to launch aboard Russia's Soyuz spacecraft Oct. 14 from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

They will take over the current crew onboard the ISS, which includes NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy and cosmonauts Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner.

"The launch timeframe also allows for a crew handover with NASA’s SpaceX Crew-2 mission next spring," according to NASA.

For that mission, NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur, who is Behnken's wife, and JAXA astronaut Akihiko Hoshide and European Space Agency astronaut Thomas Pesquet will be onboard.

Crew-1's mission also comes on the heels of the 20th anniversary of humans continuously living and working on the ISS.

NASA, SpaceX Targeting October for Next Astronaut Launch

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-1 crew members are seen seated in the company’s Crew Dragon spacecraft during crew equipment interface training. From left to right are NASA astronauts Shannon Walker, mission specialist; Victor Glover, pilot; and Mike Hopkins, Crew Dragon commander; and JAXA astronaut Soichi Noguchi, mission specialist. Photo credit: SpaceX

NASA and SpaceX are targeting no earlier than Oct. 23 for the first operational flight with astronauts of the Crew Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket to the International Space Station as a part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program. NASA’s SpaceX Crew-1 mission will be the first of regular rotational missions to the space station following completion of NASA certification.

The mission will carry Crew Dragon commander Michael Hopkins, pilot Victor Glover, and mission specialist Shannon Walker, all of NASA, along with Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) mission specialist Soichi Noguchi for a six-month science mission aboard the orbiting laboratory following launch from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Crew-1 will launch in late October to accommodate spacecraft traffic for the upcoming Soyuz crew rotation and best meet the needs of the International Space Station. Launch will follow the arrival of NASA astronaut Kate Rubins and cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov of the Russian space agency Roscosmos aboard their Soyuz MS-17 spacecraft and the departure of NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy and cosmonauts Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner from the space station. The launch timeframe also allows for a crew handover with NASA’s SpaceX Crew-2 mission next spring.

The Crew-1 mission is pending completion of data reviews and certification following NASA’s SpaceX Demo-2 test flight, which successfully launched NASA astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley to the International Space Station on May 30 and returned them safely home with a splashdown off the Florida coast in the Gulf of Mexico on Aug. 2. Demo-2 was the first crewed flight test of a commercially-owned and operated human space system.

NASA certification of SpaceX’s crew transportation system allows the agency to regularly fly astronauts to the space station, ending sole reliance on Russia for space station access.

For almost 20 years, humans have continuously lived and worked aboard the International Space Station, advancing scientific knowledge and demonstrating new technologies that enable us to prepare for human exploration to the Moon and Mars.

NASA is enabling economic growth in low-Earth orbit to open access to space to more people, more science, and more companies than ever before.