SpaceX_Crew-5

SpaceX Crew-5

SpaceX Crew-5

2022 American crewed spaceflight to the ISS

SpaceX Crew-5 was the fifth operational NASA Commercial Crew Program flight of a Crew Dragon spacecraft, and the eighth overall crewed orbital flight. The mission was successfully launched on 5 October 2022 with the aim of transporting four crew members to the International Space Station (ISS). The Crew Dragon spacecraft docked at the ISS on 6 October 2022 at 21:01 UTC.

Quick Facts Names, Mission type ...

The crew for this mission comprised two NASA astronauts, one JAXA astronaut, and one Russian cosmonaut. Three of the crew members were assigned to this mission due to delays in Boeing's Starliner program. Commander Nicole Mann was reassigned from Boeing's Boe-CFT mission, while Pilot Josh Cassada and Mission Specialist Koichi Wakata transferred from Boeing Starliner-1.[5][6] Anna Kikina was reassigned from Soyuz MS-22.

Among the crew members, three were embarking on their first spaceflight, while Mission Specialist Koichi Wakata was a veteran of four previous space flights.

Crew

This mission marked a significant milestone as it was the first time a Russian cosmonaut, Anna Kikina, flew aboard a Crew Dragon spacecraft. In July 2022, Kikina was selected to participate in the mission as part of the Soyuz-Dragon crew swap system. This system ensures that each crew rotation mission includes at least one NASA astronaut and one Roscosmos cosmonaut, allowing both countries to maintain a presence on the International Space Station (ISS) and the ability to sustain their respective systems in case one of the vehicles, either Soyuz or commercial crew, is grounded for an extended period.[7]

Including Kikina in the Crew Dragon mission ensured that both NASA and Roscosmos continued to have representation on the ISS. Additionally, this mission marked the first instance since STS-113, when Nikolai Budarin flew, that a Russian cosmonaut flew on a U.S. spacecraft. It also represented the first launch of a Russian cosmonaut aboard a U.S. space capsule.

The Russian authorities approved the seat exchange between the American and Russian astronauts in June 2022, allowing for this historic collaboration between the two space agencies.[8]

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Backup for Soyuz MS-22 Crew Return

A micro-meteorite punctured a 0.8 mm diameter (0.031 in) hole in the radiator of Soyuz MS-22,[9] raising doubts over its safety. As a result, it was replaced with Soyuz MS-23, launched uncrewed on 24 February 2023.[10][11]

Until the replacement MS-23 docked to ISS, SpaceX Crew-5 was considered among the options to return the MS-22 crew in case of emergency. SpaceX originally designed Crew Dragon to host a crew of seven at a time. The International Space Station mission management team decided to move NASA astronaut Francisco Rubio's Soyuz seat liner from the Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft to Dragon Endurance to provide lifeboat capabilities in the event Rubio needed to return to Earth because of an emergency evacuation from the space station. The seat liner was moved on 17 January 2023, with installation and configuration continuing the following day. Seat liners have been swapped between two Soyuz, but this was the first time for Soyuz to Crew Dragon. The change allowed for increased crew protection by reducing the heat load inside the MS-22 spacecraft for cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitry Petelin in the event of an emergency return to Earth. The SpaceX Crew-6 space capsule is designed to bring back crew serving as an emergency evacuation option after Crew-5.[12]

As MS-23 arrived at the space station on 26 February, Rubio's seat liner was transferred to the new Soyuz on 6 March, and the seat liners for Prokopyev and Petelin were moved from MS-22 to MS-23 on 2 March ahead of their return in the Soyuz.[13]

SpaceX Crew-5
  • Crew-5 astronauts prior to launch
  • Crew-5 launch
  • Crew-5 approaching the ISS
  • Crew-5 recovery after reentry and landing

References

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    "SpaceX F9 / Crew Dragon : Crew-5 : KSC LC-39A : NET 5 Oct 2022 (16:00:57 UTC)".
  2. [2]
    "Roscosmos head hinted yesterday that crossover flights to #ISS, including launch of Russian cosmonaut Anna Kikina on the US Crew Dragon, would proceed as scheduled".
  3. [3]
    Clark, Stephen (28 September 2022). "SpaceX, ULA postpone launches as Hurricane Ian moves toward Florida". Spaceflight Now. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
  4. [4]
    "NASA's SpaceX Crew-5 Splash Down Near Florida Coast, Safe on Earth". NASA (Press release). 11 March 2023. Retrieved 30 March 2023.
  5. [5]
    "NASA Announces Astronaut Changes for Upcoming Commercial Crew Missions" (Press release). NASA. 6 October 2021. Retrieved 6 October 2021. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  6. [6]
    @jaxa_wdc (12 October 2021). "JAXA has announced their WAKATA Koichi @Astro_Wakata is headed for the International Space Station aboard SpaceX's…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  7. [7]
    Foust, Jeff (26 October 2021). "Rogozin says Crew Dragon safe for Russian cosmonauts". SpaceNews. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
  8. [8]
    "Распоряжение Правительства Российской Федерации от 10.06.2022 № 1532-р ∙ Официальное опубликование правовых актов ∙ Официальный интернет-портал правовой информации". publication.pravo.gov.ru. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
  9. [9]
    "Госкорпорация «Роскосмос»".
  10. [10]
    Pavlushchenko, Katya [@katlinegrey] (19 December 2022). "A big update on the incident with #SoyuzMS22 appeared on the Roscosmos website: https://t.co/cJGMOhh9Xr. Quick summary in the thread below. ⤵️ https://t.co/Gj1SCTG49j" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 19 December 2022. Retrieved 20 December 2022 – via Twitter.
  11. [11]
    Tyler Gray (25 February 2023). "Uncrewed Soyuz MS-23 "rescue" mission arrives at ISS". nasaspaceflight.com. Retrieved 28 March 2023.
  12. [12]
    Expedition 68 NASA's SpaceX Crew-6 Leaders Discuss Mission - Jan. 25, 2023, retrieved 14 February 2023
  13. [13]
    Garcia, Mark. "Spacewalk Preps Continue as Soyuz Seat Move Planned as Precaution". blogs.nasa.gov. Retrieved 14 January 2023. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
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