SpaceX Crew-6 is the sixth crewed operational NASA
Commercial Crew
The Commercial Crew Program (CCP) provides Private spaceflight, commercially-operated human spaceflight, crew transportation service to and from the International Space Station (ISS) under contract to NASA, conducting crew rotations between t ...
flight of a
Crew Dragon
Dragon 2 is a class of partially reusable spacecraft developed and manufactured by American aerospace manufacturer SpaceX, primarily for flights to the International Space Station (ISS). SpaceX has also launched private missions such as In ...
spacecraft, and the ninth overall crewed orbital flight. The mission launched on 2 March 2023 at 05:34:14 UTC, and it successfully docked to the
International Space Station
The International Space Station (ISS) is the largest Modular design, modular space station currently in low Earth orbit. It is a multinational collaborative project involving five participating space agencies: NASA (United States), Roscosmos ( ...
(ISS) on 3 March 2023 at 06:40 UTC. The Crew-6 mission transported four crew members to the International Space Station (ISS). Two NASA astronauts, a
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia ( The Middle East). It is located at ...
astronaut, and a Russian cosmonaut were assigned to the mission. The two NASA astronauts are
Stephen Bowen and
Warren Hoburg. The cosmonaut,
Andrey Fedyaev
Andrey Valerievich Fediaev (Russian Cyrillic: Андрей Валерьевич Федяев; born February 26, 1981) is a Russian cosmonaut.
Biography
Fediaev received an engineering degree in air transport and Air Traffic Control from the Bal ...
, was reassigned from
Soyuz MS-23
Soyuz MS-23 is a planned Russian uncrewed Soyuz spaceflight to launch from Baikonur on 20 February 2023 to the International Space Station, in order to replace the Soyuz MS spacecraft for landing that the three Soyuz MS-22 crew members launche ...
.
Sultan Al Neyadi
Sultan Al Neyadi ( ar, سلطان النيادي; born May 23, 1981) is an Emirati astronaut and one of the first two astronauts from the United Arab Emirates, along with Hazza Al Mansouri.
Childhood and education
Sultan Al Neyadi was born in ...
is heading the Emirates' mission on the flight.
Crew
On 24 March 2022 the
European Space Agency
, owners =
, headquarters = Paris, Île-de-France, France
, coordinates =
, spaceport = Guiana Space Centre
, seal = File:ESA emblem seal.png
, seal_size = 130px
, image = Views in the Main Control Room (120 ...
announced that Danish astronaut
Andreas Mogensen
Andreas Enevold Mogensen (born 2 November 1976) is a Danish engineer and ESA astronaut who is best known for being the first Dane to fly in space as part of the European Space Agency's iriss program. Mogensen has also been involved in a number of ...
will serve as backup pilot. On 29 April 2022, the
Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre
The Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC; ar, مركز محمد بن راشد للفضاء, markaz Muḥammad bin Rāshid lil-faḍāʾ), is a Dubai government organisation working on the UAE space programme, which includes various space s ...
(MBRSC) and
Axiom Space
Axiom Space, Inc., also known as Axiom, is an American privately funded space infrastructure developer headquartered in Houston, Texas.
Founded in 2016 by Michael T. Suffredini and Kam Ghaffarian, the company first flew a spaceflight in 20 ...
announced that Crew-6 will also include an astronaut from the
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia ( The Middle East). It is located at ...
.
MBRSC participation in this mission resulted from a 2021 agreement between NASA and Axiom to fly a NASA astronaut,
Mark T. Vande Hei
Mark Thomas Vande Hei (born November 10, 1966) is a retired United States Army officer and current NASA astronaut who has served as a flight Engineer for Expedition 53, 54, 64, 65, and 66 on the International Space Station.
Early life and ...
, onboard
Soyuz MS-18
Soyuz MS-18 (spacecraft named "Y. A. Gagarin") was a Soyuz spaceflight that was launched on 9 April 2021 at 07:42:41 UTC. It transported three members of the Expedition 64 crew to the International Space Station (ISS). Soyuz MS-18 was the 146 ...
(launch) and
Soyuz MS-19
Soyuz MS-19 was a Soyuz spaceflight which launched on 5 October 2021, at 08:55:02 UTC. It was the 147th flight of a crewed Soyuz spacecraft. The launching crew consisted of Russian commander Anton Shkaplerov, Russian film director Klim Ship ...
(return) in order to ensure a continuing American presence onboard the ISS. In return, Axiom received the rights to a NASA owned seat onboard SpaceX Crew-6. Axiom provided the flight opportunity to MBRSC professional crew member through an agreement with the
United Arab Emirates Space Agency
The United Arab Emirates Space Agency (UAESA) ( ar, وكالة الإمارات للفضاء translit: wikālat al-Imārāt l-lifaḍā') is the space agency of the United Arab Emirates government responsible for the development of the country ...
. Later the astronaut was confirmed to be
Sultan Al Neyadi
Sultan Al Neyadi ( ar, سلطان النيادي; born May 23, 1981) is an Emirati astronaut and one of the first two astronauts from the United Arab Emirates, along with Hazza Al Mansouri.
Childhood and education
Sultan Al Neyadi was born in ...
.
Andrey Fedyaev
Andrey Valerievich Fediaev (Russian Cyrillic: Андрей Валерьевич Федяев; born February 26, 1981) is a Russian cosmonaut.
Biography
Fediaev received an engineering degree in air transport and Air Traffic Control from the Bal ...
was selected in July 2022 for this mission as a part of the Soyuz-Dragon crew swap system of keeping at least one NASA astronaut and one Roscosmos cosmonaut on each of the crew rotation missions. This ensures both countries have a presence on the station, and the ability to maintain their separate systems if either Soyuz or commercial crew vehicles are grounded for an extended period.
Mission
The sixth SpaceX operational mission in the
Commercial Crew Program
The Commercial Crew Program (CCP) provides commercially-operated crew transportation service to and from the International Space Station (ISS) under contract to NASA, conducting crew rotations between the expeditions of the International Sp ...
(CCP) was launched on 2 March 2023 and is planned to last approximately six months. The mission was scheduled to launch early on 27 February 2023. However, the initial attempt was scrubbed and rescheduled for 2 March 2023, at 5:34 am UTC.
The second launch attempt was successful.
Alongside Crew-6, the space capsule is designed to be able to bring back the
Soyuz MS-22
Soyuz MS-22 is a Russian Soyuz spaceflight to the International Space Station with a crew of three launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome on 21 September 2022. The launch was previously planned for 13 September 2022, but in the provisional flight ma ...
crew if necessary, serving as an emergency evacuation, as was
Crew-5.
Roscosmos
The State Space Corporation "Roscosmos" (russian: Государственная корпорация по космической деятельности «Роскосмос»), commonly known simply as Roscosmos (russian: Роскосмос) ...
elected to launch
Soyuz MS-23
Soyuz MS-23 is a planned Russian uncrewed Soyuz spaceflight to launch from Baikonur on 20 February 2023 to the International Space Station, in order to replace the Soyuz MS spacecraft for landing that the three Soyuz MS-22 crew members launche ...
without a crew to return the MS-22 crew instead of using this capability.
Launch attempt
The first launch attempt was scrubbed at T−02:12 minutes due to an issue with the
TEA
Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of '' Camellia sinensis'', an evergreen shrub native to East Asia which probably originated in the borderlands of southwestern China and north ...
-
TEB spontaneous ignition fluid.
(times are
UTC)
Gallery
References
{{People currently in space
SpaceX Dragon 2
Spacecraft launched in 2023
SpaceX payloads contracted by NASA
SpaceX human spaceflights
2023 in the United States
Fully civilian crewed orbital spaceflights