SpaceX Crew-3 astronauts stand on a conveyor in front of a stack of Crew Dragon and Falcon 9 inside SpaceX’s horizontal processing facility at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on October 26, 2021.
SpaceX
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Elon Musk The space company is scheduled to launch its Crew-3 mission for NASA on Wednesday night, SpaceX’s fifth manned mission in 18 months.
Crew-3 will lift off from Launch Pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 9:03 p.m. ET. Following launch, astronauts are scheduled to arrive at the International Space Station on Thursday at 7:10 p.m. ET.
“Everything looks like we’re in a good place to fly,” SpaceX vice president William Gerstenmaier told reporters during a pre-launch press conference.
The launch marks SpaceX’s third crewed launch for NASA to date, and the first with the latest addition to its fleet of Crew Dragon capsules, which Crew-3 astronauts have dubbed “Endurance.” The Crew-3 mission will bring the number of astronauts launched by SpaceX to 18.
NASA and SpaceX have delayed the launch of Crew-3 several times since its previous target on October 30, due to bad weather in the Atlantic, as well as a minor medical issue with one of the four crew members. The ocean should be calm in the direction of the missile launch, in case of a cancellation mid-flight, causing the capsules to scatter after takeoff. NASA declined to say more about the medical issue, citing the personal privacy of the astronauts, but said it was not an emergency and had nothing to do with the Covid-19 virus.
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From left: ESA astronauts Matthias Maurer, NASA astronauts Raja Chari, Tom Marshburn, and Kayla Barron.
Joel Kosky / NASA
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The Crew-3 mission will carry four astronauts, three Americans and one German: NASA astronauts Raja Chari, Tom Marshburn, Kayla Barron, and ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer.
Chari, the commander of the spacecraft, was selected as an astronaut by NASA in 2017. This will be his first space flight, with Chari also being selected by NASA as one of the astronauts eligible for future Artemis moon missions later this decade. Shari was a colonel in the US Air Force, with more than 2,500 flight hours.
Marshburn, a Crew-3 pilot, was selected as an astronaut by NASA in 2004. This was Marshburn’s third space flight, having previously flown by the shuttle and the Russian Soyuz spacecraft. Marshburn was previously an aeronautical surgeon at NASA.
Barron flew as mission specialist Crew 3, having been selected by NASA in 2017. Like Chari, the launch was Barron’s first space flight – he graduated from the US Naval Academy in 2010, and has a master’s degree in nuclear engineering from Cambridge University.
Maurer, the latest international astronaut to fly with SpaceX, joined the European Astronaut Corps in 2015. This will also be his first space flight.
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The Crew Dragon spacecraft for NASA’s SpaceX Crew-3 mission arrives at the hangar at Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on October 24, 2021.
SpaceX
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SpaceX developed its Crew Dragon vehicle and tuned its Falcon 9 rocket under NASA’s Commercial Crew program, which has awarded the company $3.1 billion to develop the system and launch six operational missions.
Commercial Crew is such a competitive program that NASA has also awarded Boeing a $4.8 billion contract to develop the Starliner spacecraft — but That the competitor capsule is still under development due to an unmanned test flight in December 2019 who face great challenges.
Crew-3 represents the third of SpaceX’s six missions, with NASA now leveraging the investments made in developing the company’s spacecraft.
NASA confirms that while the United States has a way to send astronauts into space, SpaceX provides the agency Cost saving options The more so. The agency expects to pay each astronaut to fly with Crew Dragon, compared to $86 million per astronaut to fly with Russia. Last year, NASA estimated that there were two private companies vying for the contract Agency saves between $20 billion and $30 billion in development costs.
The company completed a full workout for Crew-3 in October, during which a quartet of astronauts was trained to put on the suit and drive to the launch pad in a pair. Tesla The Xs model is used by SpaceX to transport crews.
Endurance is the new Crew Dragon capsule debuting for this mission. Previously, the “Resilience” and “Endeavour” capsules carried astronauts, and SpaceX hopes to add a fourth Dragon Crew crew early next year.
Crew Dragon is an upgraded version of the company’s Cargo Dragon spacecraft. Just as Cargo Dragon was the first spacecraft specifically developed to carry supplies to the International Space Station, Crew Dragon was the first spacecraft specifically developed to carry humans.
While SpaceX has flown a maximum of four people per mission so far, the Crew Dragon is designed to carry up to seven passengers into space at a time.
SpaceX recently had an accident with the toilet on its Crew Dragon spacecraft, in which a hose on the “flex” was loosened during the Inspiration4 mission – although the crew on board saw no problems during space flight – and the “Endeavour” capsule carrying the ship. encountered the mission The Crew-2 earlier this week having the same problem. The company said it had updated the design of its Endurance waste management system before launching Crew-3, in a bid to fix the problem.
The Crew Dragon’s parachute is also of concern, as one of the four main parachutes deployed during Crew-2’s return was later than the others. Gerstenmaier told reporters that despite the slow opening, the canopy worked as expected – ensuring the Crew Dragon could spray under three parachutes if needed. The NASA and SpaceX team examined the recovered Crew-2 water parachute and examined data from the flight, with Gerstenmaier saying nothing out of the ordinary after the review.
The company plans to continue to reuse Crew Dragon capsules, having done so with the Crew-2 and Inspiration4 missions.
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SpaceX briefly tested the launch of a Falcon 9 rocket with the Crew Dragon endurance capsule in preparation for the launch of Crew-3.
Joel Kosky / NASA
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The Crew Dragon will be launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, with the booster (the large bottom of the rocket) expected to land on the company’s independent barge in the Atlantic Ocean.
SpaceX launched a steady launch of the rocket on October 28, during which its nine engines ran for a few seconds while standing on the launch pad.
The Falcon 9 has become the backbone of SpaceX’s ever-expanding fleet. The missile has a height of about 230 feet and can launch up to 25 tons into low-Earth orbit. The Falcon 9 series is eligible for up to 10 flights, and SpaceX continues to push the limits of reuse with its satellite launches.
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A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the company’s Crew Dragon spacecraft is seen at sunset on the launch pad at Launch Complex 39A as preparations for the Crew-3 mission continue, Wednesday, October 27, 2021, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Joel Kosky / NASA
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Four hours before liftoff, the astronauts will get dressed. About half an hour later, the crew will get out into their X car, complete with the NASA logo, which will glide from the astronauts’ quarters to the launch pad.
With two and a half hours remaining, the astronauts would sit on the Crew Dragon and start checking that all systems were in order. Then, with less than two hours before launch, the spacecraft’s hatch will close.
SpaceX will begin refueling the rocket 35 minutes before launch, which will begin a series of final operations and checks.
Minutes after takeoff, the Falcon 9 booster stage would return and attempt to land on a company barge stationed in the Atlantic.
If something goes wrong in the last half hour before launch or even during launch, Crew Dragon will cancel and release the emergency escape system. company Test this system With no one in the spaceship. In this test, SpaceX ran the system through the most intense parts of the launch to prove it could be done at any time.
Upon arrival at the International Space Station, Crew-3 will undertake a full-length mission, spending approximately six months on board.
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