SpaceX Crew-1 launch live thread | Sunday, Nov. 15 7:27 pm EST / 6:27 pm CST

[kevindavis007]

Commander Mike Hopkins aboard the Crew Dragon Resilience: "Resilience is ready for launch. Crew for one and one for all.”

[mystery-ak]

Crew for one and one for all

I like that

[mystery-ak]

counting down...45 sec

[mystery-ak]

And we have lift off...beautiful in the night sky

[kevindavis007]

Liftoff the Clock is ticking!!!

[mystery-ak]

@libertybele I hope you can see it

[kevindavis007]

[kevindavis007]

Footnote: One of the Astronauts is going to be the first member of the Space Force to go into space!

[kevindavis007]

The booster has landed.

[Elderberry]

The Space Station Is About to Be so Crowded That One Astronaut Will Have to Sleep in the SpaceX Capsule

https://futurism.com/the-byte/iss-crowded-one-astronaut-sleep-spacex-capsule

Three astronauts — NASA’s Kate Rubins and cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov — are already on board the space station, bringing the total to seven. But there are only six spots to sleep, meaning that NASA astronaut and mission commander Mike Hopkins will have to slumber in SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule, United Press International reports.

“We are currently short one crew quarters on board station,” Hopkins told reporters on Monday. “In the interim, they are exploring options on where I could sleep, including on [Crew Dragon] itself.”

[kevindavis007]

The Space Station Is About to Be so Crowded That One Astronaut Will Have to Sleep in the SpaceX Capsule

https://futurism.com/the-byte/iss-crowded-one-astronaut-sleep-spacex-capsule

@Elderberry


Well I guess we need to expand the Space Station or need a bigger one.

[Elderberry]

What happens when NASA retires the International Space Station?

Houston Chronicle by  Andrea Leinfelder Oct. 22, 2020

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/space/article/retire-international-space-station-nasa-iss-15666976.php

Michael Suffredini knows what he knows: how to build and operate space stations.

He also knows the U.S. government will never build another station for low-Earth orbit. So after two decades of working on the International Space Station, Suffredini left NASA in 2015 and co-founded Houston-based Axiom Space.

He’s among those working on a succession plan for the beloved space station that, on Nov. 2, will celebrate 20 uninterrupted years of sheltering humans some 250 miles above the Earth.

“The International Space Station has been an amazing asset for the United States. It still is, and it will be for years to come,” NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said during a recent Senate hearing. “But we all know a day is going to come when it comes to the end of its useful life.”

More at link.

[Elderberry]

SpaceX Crew-1 Astronauts Continue Journey to Station

NASA Blogs by Mark GarciaPosted on November 16, 2020

https://blogs.nasa.gov/commercialcrew/2020/11/16/spacex-crew-1-astronauts-continue-journey-to-station/

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-1 astronauts are en route to the International Space Station following a successful launch on the first NASA-certified commercial human spacecraft system in history. NASA’s SpaceX Crew-1 mission lifted off at 7:27 p.m. EST Sunday from Launch Complex 39A at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket propelled the Crew Dragon spacecraft with NASA astronauts Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover, and Shannon Walker, along with Soichi Noguchi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), into orbit to begin a six-month science mission aboard the space station.

After reaching orbit, mission teams and the crew prepared for their continued journey to the space station. Teams on the ground moved the spacecraft, named Resilience, into the proper configuration for the trip, and the crew removed their SpaceX spacesuits and prepared the cabin as they wind down their first day in space.

SpaceX engineers completed troubleshooting on heater controls associated with Crew Dragon’s propellant system, and updated the crew. Flight controllers in Hawthorne, California, determined the control limits were set too tightly and resolved the issue by resetting the limits and rebooting the heaters.  They have verified that the heaters are working properly.

Resilience will dock autonomously to the forward port of the station’s Harmony module about 11 p.m. Monday, Nov. 16. NASA Television and the agency’s website are providing ongoing live coverage through docking, hatch opening, and the ceremony to welcome the crew aboard the orbiting laboratory.

[Elderberry]

[Elderberry]

SpaceX Astronauts Brought Baby Yoda To The International Space Station

Gamespot by David Wolinsky on November 16, 2020

https://www.gamespot.com/articles/spacex-astronauts-brought-baby-yoda-to-the-international-space-station/1100-6484494/

NASA crew members use The Child as a scientific instrument in space.

SpaceX's Crew-1, an international crew of NASA astronauts en route to the International Space Station, has revealed that it has The Child (aka Baby Yoda) as a stowaway. The footage was captured by The Verge's science reporter, Loren Grush. Check out the footage she clipped from the flight's recordings below.

    Good morning, I must have fallen asleep before I learned that Baby Yoda is the Crew-1's Zero G indicator. May this bless your Monday morning pic.twitter.com/5Ajhlr69p9
    — Loren Grush (@lorengrush) November 16, 2020

Baby Yoda reportedly has a job: The toy is the flight's "zero G indicator," or a small object that can let crewmembers and/or any passengers know at a glance when the spaceship is in orbit and has reached a microgravity environment. While there is a clear link between astronauts and sci-fi--and especially Star Wars--fandom, it should be stated that this is something of a tradition. Earlier this year, according to The Verge, astronauts on SpaceX's historic launch brought a stuffed dinosaur along for the same purpose.

More at link.

[Elderberry]

Watch NASA's SpaceX Crew-1 Mission Arrive at the International Space Station

NASA

Tune in live as the Crew Dragon "Resilience" spacecraft docks to the International Space Station with astronauts Michael Hopkins, Shannon Walker, and Victor Glover of NASA and Soichi Noguchi of JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) aboard. The four astronauts will begin a six-month science mission on the station. Docking is scheduled at 11 p.m. EST (4 a.m. UTC), Monday, Nov. 16 followed by the hatch opening at 11:30 p.m. EST (4:30 a.m. UTC), and a welcome ceremony at 1:40 a.m. EST (6:40 a.m. UTC) Tuesday, Nov. 17.


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[Elderberry]

NASA to Provide Live Coverage of Space Station Crew Landing

https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-to-provide-live-coverage-of-space-station-crew-landing

NASA.gov MEDIA ADVISORY M21-043 Apr 13, 2021

Expedition 64 Flight Engineer Kate Rubins of NASA and two Roscosmos cosmonauts are scheduled to end their mission on the International Space Station Friday, April 16. Coverage of departure from the station and landing on Earth will air live on NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agency’s website.

Rubins, along with Russian cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov, will close the hatch to the Soyuz MS-17 spacecraft at 6:10 p.m. EDT to begin the journey back to Earth. The trio will undock from the space-facing port of the station’s Poisk module at 9:34 p.m., heading for a parachute-assisted landing at 12:56 a.m. (10:56 a.m. Kazakhstan time) Saturday, April 17, on the steppe of Kazakhstan, southeast of the remote town of Dzhezkazgan.

The three crew members will wrap up a 185-day mission spanning 2,960 orbits of Earth and 78.4 million miles. Rubins is completing her second flight, with 300 cumulative days in space. Ryzhikov is completing his second spaceflight, with 358 cumulative days. This was Kud-Sverchkov’s first spaceflight.

In advance of Soyuz departure coverage, station commander Ryzhikov will hand over command of the station to NASA astronaut Shannon Walker during a change of command ceremony. The event will air live on NASA TV, the NASA app, and the agency’s website beginning at 3:45 p.m. Thursday, April 15.

On Friday, April 16, coverage of the farewells and hatch closure for the departing crew members will begin at 5:45 p.m., followed by undocking coverage at 9:15 p.m., with coverage of the Soyuz deorbit burn and landing beginning at 11:30 p.m.

At the time of undocking, Expedition 65 will formally begin aboard the station, with new station commander Walker, NASA astronauts Victor Glover, Michael Hopkins, and Mark Vande Hei, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Soichi Noguchi, and cosmonauts Oleg Novitskiy and Pyotr Dubrov.

Later this month, NASA’s SpaceX Crew-2 members – NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur, JAXA astronaut Akihiko Hoshide, and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Thomas Pesquet – will join the Expedition 65 members aboard the station.

After landing, the Soyuz MS-17 crew will split up, with Rubins returning to her home in Houston, while the cosmonauts fly back to their training base in Star City, Russia.

Learn more about space station activities by following @space_station, and @ISS_Research on Twitter, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts and the space station blog.

[Elderberry]

NASA Updates Live Coverage of Agency’s SpaceX Crew-1 Return to Earth

NASA Apr 26, 2021
MEDIA ADVISORY M21-050

https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-updates-live-coverage-of-agency-s-spacex-crew-1-return-to-earth

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-1 mission with NASA astronauts Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover, and Shannon Walker, and Soichi Noguchi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) is now targeting a return to Earth at 11:36 a.m. EDT Saturday, May 1, in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Florida.

The Crew Dragon spacecraft, named Resilience, is scheduled to undock from the International Space Station at 5:55 p.m. Friday, April 30, to begin the journey home.

NASA and SpaceX agreed to move Crew-1’s undocking and splashdown from Wednesday, April 28, following a review of forecast weather conditions in the splashdown zones off the coast of Florida, which currently predict wind speeds above the recovery criteria. Teams will continue to monitor weather conditions for splashdown ahead of Friday’s planned undocking.

The return to Earth – and activities leading up to the return – will air live on NASA Television, the NASA App, and the agency’s website.

Crew-1 is the first of six crewed missions NASA and SpaceX will fly as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program, which worked with the U.S. aerospace industry to return launches with astronauts on American rockets and spacecraft from American soil.

In advance of departure from the space station, Crew-1 astronaut and station Commander Shannon Walker of NASA will hand over command of the station to JAXA astronaut and Crew-2 member Akihiko Hoshide during a change of command and farewell event.

The Crew Dragon will undock autonomously and depart from the space station with the capability to splashdown at one of seven targeted landing zones in the Atlantic Ocean or Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Florida. Resilience also will return to Earth important and time-sensitive research. For normal crew rescue and recovery operations, the NASA and SpaceX teams select two primary splashdown locations from the seven possible locations about two weeks prior to return, with additional decision milestones taking place prior to crew boarding the spacecraft, during free flight, and before Crew Dragon performs a deorbit burn.

NASA and SpaceX closely coordinate with the U.S. Coast Guard to establish a 10-nautical-mile safety zone around the expected splashdown location to ensure safety for the public and for those involved in the recovery operations, as well as the crew aboard the returning spacecraft.

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-1 return coverage is as follows (all times are Eastern):

Tuesday, April 27

1:25 p.m. – Change of Command and Crew-1 farewell remarks aboard the International Space Station

Friday, April 30

3:30 p.m. – NASA TV coverage begins for 3:50 p.m. hatch closure

5:30 p.m. – NASA TV coverage begins for 5:55 p.m. undocking

Saturday, May 1

11:36 a.m. – Splashdown (NASA TV will provide continuous coverage from undocking to splashdown)

1:30 p.m. – Return to Earth news conference at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, with the following participants:

•   Kathy Lueders, associate administrator, Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters

•   Steve Stich, manager, Commercial Crew Program, Kennedy Space Center

•   Joel Montalbano, manager, International Space Station, Johnson

•   Holly Ridings, chief flight director, Johnson

•   Hans Koenigsmann, senior advisor, Flight Reliability, SpaceX

•   Hiroshi Sasaki, vice president and director general, JAXA’s Human Spaceflight Technology Directorate

Media wishing to participate in the Return to Earth news conference by telephone must call Johnson's newsroom at 281-483-5111 to RSVP no later than 12 p.m. Saturday, April 28. Those following the briefing on social media may ask questions using #AskNASA.

NASA’s Commercial Crew Program has delivered on its goal of safe, reliable, and cost-effective transportation to and from the International Space Station from the United States through a partnership with American private industry. This partnership is changing the arc of human spaceflight history by opening access to low-Earth orbit and the International Space Station to more people, more science, and more commercial opportunities. The space station remains the springboard to NASA's next great leap in space exploration, including future missions to the Moon and, eventually, to Mars.

Learn more about space station activities by following @space_station, and @ISS_Research on Twitter, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts and the space station blog.

Learn more about splashdown locations, weather criteria, and recovery logistics, at:

https://www.nasa.gov/feature/nasa-s-spacex-crew-rescue-and-recovery/

See full mission coverage, NASA's commercial crew blog, and more information about the mission at:
https://www.nasa.gov/commercialcrew

[Elderberry]

Dragon Resilience returns to Earth, completing first operational Commercial Crew mission

NASA https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2021/05/dragon-resilience-return-first-operational/

NASA and SpaceX teams have returned NASA astronauts Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover, and Shannon Walker, and Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Soichi Noguchi to Earth, completing the historic Crew-1 mission. Crew Dragon Resilience splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico, off the coast of Panama City, Florida, at 2:57 AM EDT (06:57 UTC) on Sunday May 2, marking the end of the first of six contracted, long duration, operational missions for SpaceX as a part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.

Resilience undocked from the International Space Station (ISS) at 8:30 PM on Saturday May 1 (00:30 UTC on May 2) to begin the journey home. Its return marks the end of Expedition 64 and the start of Expedition 65, with JAXA Astronaut Akihito Hoshide becoming the commander of the ISS. He’s the second Japanese astronaut to command the station, the first being Koichi Wakata during Expedition 39.

Previously scheduled for Wednesday, April 28, and Friday, April 30, the Crew-1 undocking and splashdown was postponed due to unfavorable weather in the splashdown zones off the coast of Florida. The new schedule for Sunday morning is the first night time splashdown of a crewed American spacecraft since Apollo 8 in 1968.

The last time NASA and SpaceX returned astronauts from the ISS was for the historic Demo-2 mission. Since this is the first return and recovery of a fully operational crewed mission, there have been several lessons learned from the Demo-2 test flight which were implemented for Crew-1.

More at link.

[Elderberry]

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-1 Astronauts to Answer Questions after Return to Earth

NASA May 3, 2021 MEDIA ADVISORY M21-055

https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-s-spacex-crew-1-astronauts-to-answer-questions-after-return-to-earth

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-1 astronauts will answer questions at 3:45 p.m. EDT Thursday, May 6, about their historic mission on the International Space Station and return to Earth. The news conference will air live on NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agency’s website.

NASA astronauts Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover, and Shannon Walker, along with Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Soichi Noguchi, will participate in the first media event following their mission and splashdown.

This will be a virtual event with no media present, due to the safety restrictions related to the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Reporters who wish to participate by telephone must call the newsroom at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston at 281-483-5111 to RSVP no later than 5 p.m. Wednesday, May 5. Those following the briefing on social media may ask questions using the hashtag #AskNASA.

SpaceX’s Crew Dragon, named Resilience, carrying Hopkins, Glover, Walker, and Noguchi, splashed down at 2:56 a.m. May 2 under parachutes in the Gulf of Mexico, off the coast of Panama City, Florida, and was successfully recovered by SpaceX. After returning to shore, the astronauts immediately flew back to Houston, where they were greeted by their families and colleagues.

The successful launch of the agency’s SpaceX Crew-1 in November 2020 was the first flight of a NASA-certified commercial human spacecraft system in history. Crew-1 is the first of six crewed missions NASA and SpaceX will fly as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program, which worked with the U.S. aerospace industry to return launches with astronauts on American rockets and spacecraft from American soil.

Crew-1 astronauts worked on a number of experiments as part of Expedition 64 and Expedition 65 to the International Space Station, including tissue chips that mimic the structure and function of human organs to understand the role of microgravity on human health and diseases, and translate those findings to improve human health on Earth. Astronauts also grew radishes in different types of light and soils as part of ongoing efforts to produce food in space, and tested a new system to remove heat from spacesuits.

Michael Hopkins was commander of the Crew Dragon spacecraft and the Crew-1 mission. He was responsible for all phases of flight, from launch to re-entry. Selected as a NASA astronaut in 2009, Hopkins now has spent a total of 335 days in space during two spaceflights. He conducted three spacewalks during this mission for a total of five in his career totaling 32 hours and 1 minute. Born in Lebanon, Missouri, Hopkins grew up on a farm outside Richland, Missouri. He has a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Illinois, and a master’s degree in aerospace engineering from Stanford University. Before joining NASA, Hopkins was a flight test engineer with the U.S. Air Force.

Victor Glover was the pilot of the Crew Dragon spacecraft and second-in-command for the mission. Glover was responsible for spacecraft systems and performance. Selected as an astronaut in 2013, this was his first spaceflight, during which he conducted four spacewalks totaling 26 hours, 7 minutes. The California native holds a Bachelor of Science degree in general engineering from California Polytechnic State University, a Master of Science degree in flight test engineering and a master’s degree in military operational art and science from Air University, as well as a Master of Science degree in systems engineering from the Naval Postgraduate School. Glover is a naval aviator and was a test pilot in the F/A‐18 Hornet, Super Hornet, and EA‐18G Growler aircraft.

Shannon Walker was a mission specialist for Crew-1. As a mission specialist, she worked closely with the commander and pilot to monitor the spacecraft during the dynamic launch and re-entry phases of flight. She also was responsible for monitoring timelines, telemetry, and consumables during the mission. Selected as a NASA astronaut in 2004, this was her second spaceflight, bringing her total time in space to 331 days. Walker first launched to the International Space Station aboard the Russian Soyuz TMA-19 spacecraft as the co-pilot, and spent 161 days aboard the orbiting laboratory. A Houston native, Walker received a Bachelor of Arts degree in physics from Rice University, as well as a Master of Science degree and a doctorate in space physics, both from Rice University, in 1992 and 1993, respectively.

Soichi Noguchi also was a mission specialist for Crew-1, working with the commander and pilot to monitor the spacecraft during the dynamic launch and re-entry phases of flight, and keeping watch on timelines, telemetry, and consumables. Noguchi was selected as an astronaut candidate by the National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA, currently the JAXA) in May 1996. Noguchi is now a veteran of three spaceflights and has spent a total of 345 days in space. During STS-114 in 2005, he became the first Japanese astronaut to perform a spacewalk outside the space station. He has performed a total of four spacewalks, accumulating 27 hours and 1 minute of spacewalking time. Noguchi launched aboard a Soyuz spacecraft in 2009, to return to the station as a long-duration crew member. The Crew Dragon is the third spacecraft Noguchi has flown to the orbiting laboratory.

Follow updates on the Commercial Crew Program at:

https://blogs.nasa.gov/commercialcrew/

Follow Hopkins on Twitter, Glover on Twitter and Instagram, and Noguchi on Twitter.

Download b-roll and additional video content at:

http://images.nasa.gov

Get the latest space station news, images and features on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.