A successful launch to the International Space Station from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 3:27 a.m. EDT on Saturday, August 26, put a crew of four from four different nations in orbit. The seventh commercial crew rotation mission for NASA is the company’s SpaceX Crew-7 mission.
NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli, ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen, JAXA astronaut Satoshi Furukawa, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov were aboard the Dragon spacecraft when it was launched into orbit by a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket for an orbital laboratory science mission.
According to NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, “Crew-7 is a shining example of the power of both American ingenuity and what we can accomplish when we work together.” In order to prepare for missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond, the crew of the station will carry out more than 200 science experiments and technological demonstrations, all of which will be beneficial to people on Earth. With the help of international collaboration, NASA is enlisting the brightest scientific minds to support our audacious objectives. It is obvious that collaboration allows us to accomplish more and learn more.
SpaceX’s mission control center in Hawthorne, California, will oversee a sequence of autonomous spacecraft moves during Dragon’s journey, and NASA crews will keep an eye on space station activities from the Mission Control Center at the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.
At 8:39 a.m., the Dragon spacecraft, also known as Endurance, will dock by itself to the Harmony module of the space station. July 27, a Sunday. Live coverage of the docking and hatch opening will be available on NASA Television, the NASA app, and the organization’s website. At 11:30 a.m., NASA will also broadcast the crew’s welcome words from the orbiting outpost.
In addition to Sultan Alneyadi of the United Arab Emirates and Sergey Prokopyev, Dmitri Petelin, and Andrey Fedyaev of Roscosmos, Crew-7 will join the Expedition 69 crew of the International Space Station, which currently consists of NASA astronauts Stephen Bowen, Woody Hoburg, and Frank Rubio. Crew-6 members Bowen, Hoburg, Alneyadi, and Fedyaev will temporarily join Crew-11 aboard the space station until they return to Earth a few days later.
In order to further humankind on Earth and get ready for space exploration beyond low Earth orbit, Crew-7 will carry out fresh scientific study. The collecting of microbiological samples from the space station’s exterior, the first examination of how people react to various lengths of space travel, and an examination of the physiological elements of astronauts’ sleep are all experiments. These are only a few of the technological and scientific displays that will occur throughout their voyage.
Ken Bowersox, associate administrator, Space Operations Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington, said, “The International Space Station is an incredible science and technology platform that requires people from all over the world to maintain and maximize its benefits to people on Earth.” As we continue the nearly 23 years of a continuous human presence aboard the microgravity laboratory, it is fantastic to witness Crew-7 launch with four crew members from four different countries who will live and work on humanity’s home in space.
With the help of the Crew-7 mission, NASA can make the most of the space station, where astronauts are testing new technology, conducting scientific research, and honing their operational capabilities for future commercial spacecraft in low Earth orbit and beyond. Through NASA’s Artemis missions, research done on the space station benefits people on Earth and sets the way for upcoming lengthy visits to the Moon.
ABOUT CREW-7
Moghbeli has been a NASA astronaut since being chosen in 2017, but this is her first space flight. The New Yorker received a Master of Science in aerospace engineering from the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California, and a Bachelor of Science in aerospace engineering with information technology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge. Moghbeli, a test pilot for the Marine Corps and a helicopter pilot, has completed more than 150 combat flights and logged 2,000 hours in more than 25 different types of aircraft. She also holds a degree from the Patuxent River, Maryland-based U.S. Naval Test Pilot School. She is in charge of overseeing the entire flight, from takeoff until re-entry, in her capacity as mission commander. She will work as a flight engineer on Expedition 69/70 on the space station. @astrojaws on Twitter X
After being chosen as an ESA astronaut in 2009, Mogensen became the first citizen of Denmark to travel to space in 2015 when he launched on a Soyuz for a 10-day trip to the space station. From Copenhagen, Denmark, is Mogensen. Prior to earning his doctorate in aerospace engineering from the University of Texas at Austin, he completed his undergraduate studies and earned a master’s degree in aeronautical engineering from Imperial College London in England. Since then, Mogensen has participated as a crew member on missions 17 and 19 of NASA’s Extreme Environment Mission Operations. From 2016 to 2022, Mogensen served as the European astronaut liaison officer at NASA Johnson, communicating for astronauts within the space station and providing ground support for spacewalks. He will execute the roles of an Expedition 69 flight engineer and an Expedition 70 commander while serving as the pilot on Crew-7, which is in charge of the spacecraft’s systems and performance on board the station. On X, follow @astro_andreas.
After spending 165 days on the space station as part of Expeditions 28 and 29 in 2011, Furukawa is making his second voyage to orbit. Furukawa, a native of Kanagawa, Japan, was chosen in 1999 to be a JAXA astronaut. He is a doctor who graduated from the University of Tokyo with both a medical degree and a PhD in medical science. Furukawa participated in the 13th NEEMO mission as a crew member before being named head of JAXA’s Space Biomedical Research Group. He will join Expedition 69/70 as a flight engineer on board the space station.
As a mission specialist, Borisov, who is traveling to space for the first time, will keep an eye on the spacecraft during the challenging launch and entry phases of flight. As a test cosmonaut candidate, he joined the Roscosmos Cosmonaut Corps in 2018 and will work as a flight engineer for Expedition 69/70.
