Commercial Crew Program

Uneventful is the best way to describe it, and that’s what we’ve come to expect from SpaceX missions. Under beautiful skies and wonderful temperatures, SpaceX launched the Crew 5 mission to the International Space Station. Aboard the capsule Endurance, the crew includes Commander Nicole Mann and Josh Cassada of NASA, Koichi Wakata of JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) and Anna Kikina of Roscosmos, the only female cosmonaut and the first Russian to fly from the US in a renewed seat exchange program.

Towards the start of this year, NASA’s Engineering and Safety Center assessed the previously flown Dragon Capsule heat shield structure for potential corrosion damage ahead of its flight on Crew-4. They found that corrosion degradation would occur up until launch, but signed off on the reuse of the structure.

NASA announced quietly on June 1 that they are preparing to buy five more flights of SpaceX’s Crew Dragon to finish out the crew rotation through the planned International Space Station lifespan. This could end up being the final missions awarded under the Commerical Crew Program, with the ISS set to retire by 2030.

After a short stay at the space station, Boeing’s OFT-2 Starliner will undock and return to Earth Wednesday. Below is how and when to watch the conclusion of, hopefully, Boeing’s final uncrewed test flight.

NASA has since responded, contradicting our reporting. NASA’s full comment below.

SpaceX’s Dragon capsule has been very successful since its first crewed launch on Demo-2. While reuse is paramount to SpaceX’s mission, the Dragon capsule heat shield has started to cause issues once again that could put astronauts at risk. 

At last, Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft is poised to dock with the International Space Station. It’s been a long journey, with many setbacks, but the teams seem ready for Boeing’s capsule to join the orbiting laboratory for the first time.

Boeing and its launch partner ULA successfully sent the uncrewed Starliner space to Earth orbit today. The mission, called OFT-2 (orbital flight test two), has already surpassed the status of Starliner during OFT-1 in 2019. Next up are several key events, including docking to the International Space Station and the return flight back to Earth. Here’s what you need to know:

In the early afternoon on Monday, April 18, the Crew-4 Astronauts, three NASA astronauts and an ESA astronaut, arrived at Kennedy Space Center ahead of their launch to the International Space Station scheduled for Saturday morning.

The commander of SpaceX’s next crewed flight to the International Space Station shared on Twitter the name of the SpaceX Dragon his crew will fly in this spring. Named “Freedom,” it obviously points towards Russia’s attack on Ukraine and calls back to NASA’s first-ever crewed spacecraft.

The Russian space agency Roscosmos plans to send Cosmonaut Anna Kikina to space on a SpaceX Dragon Capsule next September.

After a successful launch late Wednesday night, SpaceX’s Crew-3 is preparing to dock with the International Space Station Thursday afternoon. Read below for live updates as SpaceX’s Dragon Endurance, with Crew-3, works towards docking.

Docking to ISS: 6:33 p.m. EST

Hatch Opening: 8:45 p.m. EST

Welcome Ceremony: 9:20 p.m. EST

SpaceX successfully launched Dragon Endurance, a brand new spacecraft, to space on its Falcon 9 rocket. The next stop for the crew on board will be docking with the International Space Station.

SpaceX’s third operational mission with NASA of their Crew Dragon vehicle, Crew-3, is planning to take flight early Halloween morning. This mission will carry four astronauts, three NASA and one ESA, to the International Space Station with additional supplies and experiments. Learn more about SpaceX’s Crew-3 launch and view updates on its status below.

Date: Wednesday, November 10, 9:03:31 p.m EST

SpaceX conducted a successful static fire of Crew-3’s Falcon 9 booster this last Thursday making them ready for their first launch date on Halloween. However, due to weather in planned abort zones along the easter coast of the US and a “minor medical issue”, Crew-3 has been delayed to tonight. Read below how to watch SpaceX’s Crew-3 launch.

Late Monday, SpaceX brought back Dragon Endeavour from its six-month stay at the International Space Station. Onboard were SpaceX’s Crew-2 astronauts Shane Kimbrough, Megan McArthur, Akihiko Hoshide, and Thomas Pesquet.

SpaceX and NASA are planning to undock Crew-2 and their Crew Dragon Endeavour and return to Earth today. This will conclude a six-month stay on the International Space Station for the four astronauts.

ISS Departure: Monday, November 8, 2:05 p.m. EST

Splashdown: Monday, November 8, 10:33 p.m. EST

NASA has delayed the launch of Crew-3 to no sooner than Monday, November 8, at 9:51 p.m. due to poor weather conditions locally and in abort zones. NASA also stated that they will now look at returning Crew-2 as soon as this Sunday, November 7, confirming our speculations earlier this week.

SpaceX moved the Falcon 9 rocket with its Crew Dragon Endurance to LC-39A ahead of its Crew-3 launch. The brand new Dragon spacecraft now sports NASA’s Worm logo just above its Super-Draco abort engines.

SpaceX‘s Crew-3 mission for NASA’s Commerical Crew Program is scheduled for Halloween (October 31) at 2:21 a.m. EDT. Tuesday, they arrived at the Shuttle Landing Facility ahead of this weekend’s launch.

NASA released a formal notice for new crewed rides to the International Space Station, answering the question what happens after SpaceX and Boeing finish their contracts.

In August, Boeing attempted to launch its second Orbital Flight Test mission to the International Space Station but was plagued by valve malfunctions. Since then, Boeing and NASA have been giving updates on where they are with returning to launch.