For SpaceUpClose.com & RocketSTEM
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FL – After a 29-hour orbital chase through space the multinational NASA Crew-5 quartet of astronaut and cosmonaut spaceflyers rendezvoused and docked with the International Space Station (ISS) Thursday afternoon, Oct. 6 arriving aboard their SpaceX commercial Crew Dragon spacecraft. following a picture-perfect blastoff at 12 Noon, Wednesday, Oct. 5 from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida on a history making science mission.
The NASA Crew-5 mission comprises for the first time a mixed crew of NASA and Japanese astronauts as well as the first ever Russian cosmonaut to fly on a commercial SpaceX Crew Dragon from U.S. soil – despite the ongoing horrendous war in Ukraine that has ruptured relations in most fields except the ISS.
The Crew Dragon Endurance spacecraft arrived as scheduled and docked to the orbiting research complex at 5:01 p.m. EDT (2101 GMT), Oct. 6, at the forward-facing port of the Harmony module while the spacecraft were flying 258 miles (413 km) above the west coast of Africa.
The historic Crew-5 team comprises NASA astronauts Nicole Mann as mission commander, and Josh Cassada, pilot. JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Koichi Wakata and Roscosmos cosmonaut Anna Kikina, also aboard the Dragon, will serve as mission specialists for their science expedition in microgravity aboard the space station.
With the arrival of the four new crew members aboard, the stations crew complement will temporarily increase to 11 people for Expedition 68 during a brief handover period of a few days until the NASA SpaceX Crew-4 spaceflyers depart and return to Earth.
Alltogether there are eight astronauts and three cosmonauts aboard from Crew-5, Crew-5 and Soyuz
Mann, Cassada and Kikina are all rookies space flyers whereas Wakata is zooming aloft on his incredible 5th mission to space and 3rd long term expedition to the ISS.
Kikina is the first Russian cosmonaut to fly on an American human spacecraft in 20 years.
After conducting standard leak and pressurization and safety checks the Dragon hatch was opened less than two hours later at 6:49 p.m. EDT, (2249 GMT).
Crew-5 then floated through the hatches and tunnel into the station and joined the Expedition 68 crew of Samantha Cristoforetti of ESA (European Space Agency), and Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin, and NASA astronauts Bob Hines, Kjell Lindgren, Frank Rubio, and Jessica Watkins, Samantha
The international U.S., Russian and Japanese crew of four astronauts and cosmonauts including three rookies and a lone veteran lifted off precisely at 12 noon EDT (1600 GMT) Wednesday, Oct. 5, seated inside SpaceX’s Crew Dragon Endurance spacecraft atop a brand new SpaceX Falcon 9 booster from Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center from Florida’s Spaceport destined for the ISS on the half year Crew-5 science expedition to the orbiting research laboratory.
Weather was absolutely perfect for the spectacular and successful Crew-5 launch to orbit into mostly clear blue skies with patches of white clouds.
With the four Crew-5 members now officially joining Expedition 68 as flight engineers thry will spend the next few days getting used to life on orbit and familiarizing themselves with space station systems.
Expedition 68 NASA astronauts Mann and Casada, JAXA astronaut Wakata and Kikina of Roscosmos have a long list of space experiments they will conduct during their stay on the orbital lab.
“The commercial crew quartet will study microgravity’s affects on the cardiorespiratory system, modeling heart tissue to improve therapies for spaceflight-caused health issues, and the 3D bioprinting of human organs and tissues for implantation, among multiple other types of research, says NASA.
As the new crew gets up to speed with their new home in space, the other seven station crewmates continued their normal station science and lab maintenance activities.
Crew-5 counts as the agency’s fifth commercial crew rotation mission with SpaceX aboard the orbital laboratory.
Overall Crew-5 is SpaceX’s 8th human spaceflight mission on Crew Dragon spacecraft in only two and a half years since inaugurating in May 2020 with the maiden Demo-2 test flight for NASA to the space station – as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program.
This list includes six commercial crew contracted flights for NASA to the ISS and two private space missions – one of which went to the ISS on Axiom-1 and the other was Inspiration-4 paid for by billionaire Jared Isaacman which orbited Earth for three days.
Crew-5 will spend several months aboard the space station conducting new scientific research in areas, such as cardiovascular health, bioprinting, and fluid behavior in microgravity to prepare for human exploration beyond low-Earth orbit and to benefit life on Earth.
“The International Space Station continues to serve a critical role in helping NASA and our partners understand and maximize the unique attributes of the microgravity environment,” said Kathryn Lueders, associate administrator for NASA’s Space Operations Mission Directorate in Washington, in a statement.
“I am grateful to the many people who worked to ensure a safe Crew-5 launch despite the recent hurricane so the crew can fulfill their mission to the orbiting laboratory.”
The Crew-5 quartets prelaunch arrival at KSC from the Johnson Space Center (JSC) was delayed by Hurricane Ian
They flew from their JSC training base and finally arrived on Sat. 29 aboard a Gulfstream jet and landed at the former Shuttle Landing Facility.
Enjoy my photos of the astronaut arrival media event.
Next spring Crew-5 will be replaced by a new multinational quartet on the Crew-6 mission
Watch Ken’s commentary about Crew-5 and Project Artemis, NASA SLS WDR demo test, NASA SpaceX Cargo Dragon and more
Oct 5: Two Fox 35 interviews –
Live prelaunch interview on Fox 35 Orlando about NASA Crew-5 launch: ‘Whats’ the purpose of the Crew-5 mission”
https://www.fox35orlando.com/video/1126638
Post-launch interview with Fox 35 Orlando about successful Crew-5 blastoff to ISS on Oct 5
Oct 3: Interview with Fox 35 Orlando previewing the Crew-5 mission
Sep 27: Live interview on Fox 35 Orlando about why NASA rolled the Artemis1 moon rocket stack off pad 39B and back into the VAB as a safe haven from threat of Hurricane Ian approaching central FL and Space Coast and the launch date impact
https://www.fox35orlando.com/video/1123047
Sep 26/27: Watch my interview comments at WFTV ABC News and Fox 35 Orlando about why NASA has decided to roll $4 Billion Artemis1 moon rocket back to VAB protective processing hangar from pad 39B due to Hurricane Ian approaching and the launch date impact
WFTV ABC Orlando: https://www.wftv.com/news/local/brevard-county/nasa-move-artemis-1-rocket-vab-over-hurricane-ian-concerns/X5NFTUGF45DBBFDNCHX7MSYXTE/
Fox 35 Orlando: https://www.fox35orlando.com/news/nasa-to-move-artemis-i-rocket-back-to-vehicle-assembly-building-due-to-hurricane-ian
Sep 25: Update on Artemis 1 launch with my live half hour interview on WKMG CBS 6 Orlando with news anchor Justin Warmoth on ‘The Weekly’: “Artemis I: Explaining NASA’s latest repairs and the mission’s greater significance”
Sep 21/22: Watch my Artemis1 comments at WFTV ABC 9 Orlando about NASA’s successfully cryogenic tanking test for Artemis 1 moon rocket and whats ahead
Sep 21/22: Interview with Fox 35 Orlando about NASA’s successfully cryogenic tanking test for Artemis 1 moon rocket and whats ahead
Sep 21: Interview with Fox News MMR local station about NASA’s successfully cryogenic tanking test for Artemis 1 moon rocket and whats ahead
https://twitter.com/FoxNewsMMR/status/1572747493208915969
https://twitter.com/FoxNewsMMR/status/1572747493208915969
Sep 21: Interview with NEWSY about NASA’s plan to conduct a cryogenic tanking test of both stages of Artemis1 SLS Moon rocket on Sep 21 to verify whether repairs to the hydrogen lines and QD seals have stopped the dangerous leaks
Sep 19/20: Interview with Fox 35 Orlando about NASA’s plan to conduct a cryogenic tanking test of both stages of Artemis1 SLS Moon rocket on Sep 21 to verify whether repairs to the hydrogen lines and QD seals have stopped the dangerous leaks
Video: https://www.fox35orlando.com/video/1119798
Watch Ken’s continuing reports about Artemis, SpaceX missions, SLS, Orion and NASA missions, SpaceX Crew and Cargo Dragons, SpaceX Axiom-1, JWST, IXPE, DART, Lucy Asteroid mission, GOES, SpaceX Starlink, Commercial Crew and Starliner and Crew Dragon, Blue Origin and Space Tourism, and onsite for live reporting of upcoming and recent SpaceX and ULA launches including Crew 1 & 2 & 3 & 4, ISS, Solar Orbiter, Mars 2020 Perseverance and Curiosity rovers, NRO spysats and national security missions and more at the Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
Stay tuned here for Ken’s continuing Earth and Planetary science and human spaceflight news: www.kenkremer.com –www.spaceupclose.com – twitter @ken_kremer – email: ken at kenkremer.com
Dr. Kremer is a research scientist and journalist based in the KSC area, active in outreach and interviewed regularly on TV and radio about space topics.
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Upcoming and recent space events and talks by Ken Kremer & Jean Wright
Oct 5, 12 from 7 to 9 PM Quality Inn, Titusville, FL: Join Ken and Jean for Artemis 1 and space mission and rocket launch triple header outreach. Ask us anything. plus display our photos and space apparel items for sale
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Aug 11: Fairbanks Museum & Planetarium, St Johnsbury, VT
https://www.fairbanksmuseum.org/blog/eyewitness-to-nasa/
“Eyewitness to NASA Human and Robotic Explorers”
Aug 19: McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center, Concord, NH
https://www.starhop.com/special-programs
“Sew Sister to the Stars: How the Humble Art of Sewing Transformed the World of Flight”
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Ken’s space/rocket photos & Jean’s custom sewn space apparel and space items for sale to support our ad free space news website: SpaceUpClose.com
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