SpaceX to launch a crew of NASA and ESA astronauts

SpaceX will take an international crew of astronauts to the ISS tomorrow, in a Crew Dragon capsule named ‘freedom’ after the first American in space, Alan Shepard.

Known as the Crew-4 mission, it will carry NASA’s Kjell N. Lindgren, Robert Hines, and Jessica Watkins, and ESA’s Samantha Cristoforetti to the ISS from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, launching atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket at 3:52 a.m. EDT.

The Expedition 67 astronauts named the spacecraft in honor of Alan Shepard, the first American in space – named for his spacecraft Freedom 7, flying on May 5, 1961. 

Crew-4 was originally due to launch last weekend, but had been delayed due to the Ax-1 commercial crew mission, which couldn’t depart the ISS due to bad weather in the ocean where it was due to splashdown. Both missions were operated by SpaceX.

The crew are scheduled to arrive at the International Space Station at 8:15pm EDT on Wednesday, with the hatch set to open at 9:45pm, allowing them on board. 

Known as the Crew-4 mission, it will carry NASA’s Kjell N. Lindgren, Robert Hines, and Jessica Watkins, and ESA’s Samantha Cristoforetti to the ISS from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, launching atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket at 3:52 a.m. EDT

SpaceX Crew Dragon ‘Freedom’ is the company’s fourth to be named by its crew, with the others given the titles Endeavour, Resilience, and Endurance, in order of launch. 

‘FREEDOM!! Crew-4 will fly to the International Space Station in a new Dragon capsule named ‘Freedom,’ said mission commander Lindgren when it was announced.

‘The name celebrates a fundamental human right, and the industry and innovation that emanate from the unencumbered human spirit.’

This will be the fifth crewed spaceflight SpaceX has operated for NASA – after test flight Demo-2 and the three operational missions to the ISS in a Crew Dragon.

Overall, this will be the seventh Crew Dragon flight, with one taking the fully private Inspiration4 crew into orbit for just short of three days last year, and the other taking the Axiom Space Ax-1 commercial crew to the ISS earlier this month.

Ax-1 had to return to Earth before Crew-4 could launch, as its spacecraft was occupying the same docking port on the ISS that was needed for Freedom.

From left to right: Jessica Watkins, Robert Hines, Kjell Lindgren and Samantha Cristoforetti

It finally splashed down on Monday, after weather cleared up enough for the ocean recovery to be carried out safely. NASA announced the Crew-4 launch for Wednesday.

This allowed for a few days of data analysis and preparation work, with the crew on board expected to spend at least six months on the orbital laboratory.

‘Through the Commercial Crew Program, NASA and SpaceX have restored a national capability and we honor the ingenuity and hard work of those involved,’ said Lindgren.

‘Alan Shepard flew on Freedom 7 at the dawn of human spaceflight. We are honored to bring Freedom to a new generation!’  

Alan Shepard was one of the original Mercury 7 astronauts, and was the first American in space – launching on May 5, 1961. 

‘Alan Shepard flew on Freedom 7 at the dawn of human spaceflight. We are honored to bring Freedom to a new generation!’ said Lindgren

He selected Freedom as his spacecraft name in light of the Cold War space race between the US and Soviet Union.  

Crew Dragon Freedom is the second to draw inspiration from NASA’s past for a title, with the first given to the Demo-2 capsule – called Endeavour after the Shuttle.

‘We both had our first flights on shuttle Endeavour, and it just meant so much to us to carry on that name. So that is what we decided to go with,’ said Doug Hurley, who travelled to space with Demo-2 in May 2020. 

Crew Dragon ‘Freedom’ was assembled at the SpaceX facility in Hawthorne, California, arriving at the Kennedy Space Center in March.