SpaceX Falcon 9 Launches SpaceX Crew-8 to the ISS

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SpaceX Crew-8 is the eighth operational crewed rotation mission of a Crew Dragon spacecraft to the International Space Station. The crew comprises NASA astronauts Commander Matthew Dominick, Pilot Michael Barratt, and Mission Specialist Jeanette Epps, along with Roscosmos cosmonaut Mission Specialist Alexander Grebenkin.

Instantaneous launch attempt on March 3rd at 10:53PM EST (03:53 UTC on the 4th). However it was scrubbed ahead of crew walkout due to ascent corridor winds.

Mission: F9 launch of Crew-8 with Crew Dragon Endeavour to the International Space Station
Launch location: Launch Complex 39A, Kennedy Space Center, Earth.
Target orbit: Low Earth Orbit, 51.6 degree inclination
Booster: B1083-1
Booster history: New booster!
Booster recovery: Landing Zone 1 (LZ-1)
Capsule: C206-5 (Endeavour); 181d 23h 36min turnaround
Capsule history: Demo-2, Crew-2, Axiom-1, Crew-6
Capsule recovery: Megan or Shannon
Rocket trajectory: Northeast hugging the east coast of the United States
Stubby nozzle: NO
Mission Commander: Matthew Dominick (United States) - 1st spaceflight
Mission Pilot: Michael Barratt (United States) - 3rd spaceflight
Mission Specialist: Jeanette Epps (United States) - 1st spaceflight
Mission Specialist: Alexander Grebenkin (Russia) - 1st spaceflight
Stats:

  · SpaceX's 20th launch of the year and the 1st launch of the month
  · 285th Falcon orbital launch since Amos 6, F9's 304th orbital flight.
  · SpaceX's 76th launch from LC-39A
  · 38th landing on LZ-1 out of 39 attempts
  · 205th successful landing since the last failed one
  · 44th orbital flight of a Dragon spacecraft and 13th human spaceflight by SpaceX
  · This mission will bring up to 50 the total of people sent by SpaceX to orbit


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJ289PotNhc

[Elderberry]

Crew Dragon docks with space station after smooth rendezvous

Spaceflight Now by William Harwood March 5, 2024

A SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft caught up with the International Space Station early Tuesday after a 28-hour orbital chase, bringing three NASA astronauts and a Russian cosmonaut to the outpost for a six-month tour of duty.

The docking capped an exceptionally busy “day” for SpaceX that included the Crew Dragon’s launch Sunday at 10:53 p.m. EST, followed by two back-to-back Falcon 9 flights Monday, one from Florida and the other from California, that put a total of 76 satellites into orbit.

All the while, the Crew Dragon, launched three days late because of high winds, continued its automated approach to the space station, catching up from behind and below and then moving in for docking at the Harmony module’s forward port at 2:28 a.m. EST Tuesday, about a half hour earlier than expected.

After hooks drove home to firmly lock the spacecraft in place, a SpaceX flight controller called to confirm “docking sequence is complete. So with that, Crew Dragon Endeavour, welcome to the International Space Station. We would also like to note that you can’t be ‘Crew L8’ (late) when you arrive 30 minutes early.”

“SpaceX Dragon … copies all,” Crew 8 commander Matthew Dominick replied. “So excited to be here, and thank you, all the teams that got us here, so much.”

Dominick, space station veteran Mike Barratt, Jeanette Epps and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin are replacing Crew 7 commander Jasmin Moghbeli, European Space Agency astronaut Andreas Mogensen, Japanese flier Satoshi Furukawa and cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov. They plan to undock March 11 to close out their own six-month stay in space.

More: https://spaceflightnow.com/2024/03/05/crew-dragon-docks-with-space-station-after-smooth-rendezvous/