_(cropped).jpg) Endeavour approaches the ISS | |
| Names |
|
|---|---|
| Mission type | ISS crew transport |
| Operator | SpaceX |
| COSPAR ID | 2021-030A |
| SATCATno. | 48209 |
| Mission duration | 199 days, 17 hours, 44 minutes, 13 seconds |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Spacecraft | Crew Dragon Endeavour |
| Spacecraft type | Crew Dragon |
| Manufacturer | SpaceX |
| Launch mass | 12,055 kg (26,577 lb)[1] |
| Landing mass | 9,616 kg (21,200 lb) |
| Crew | |
| Crew size | 4 |
| Members | |
| Expedition | Expedition 65/66 |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | April 23, 2021, 09:49:02 (2021-04-23UTC09:49:02Z) UTC (5:27:17 am EDT)[2] |
| Rocket | Falcon 9 Block 5B1061-2 |
| Launch site | Kennedy,LC‑39A |
| End of mission | |
| Recovered by | MV GO Navigator |
| Landing date | November 9, 2021, 03:33:15 (2021-11-09UTC03:33:16Z) UTC (10:33:15 am EST) |
| Landing site | Gulf of Mexico, nearPensacola, Florida |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric orbit |
| Regime | Low Earth orbit |
| Inclination | 51.66° |
| Docking withISS | |
| Docking port | Harmony forward |
| Docking date | April 24, 2021, 09:07:55 UTC |
| Undocking date | July 21, 2021, 10:45 UTC |
| Time docked | 88 days, 1 hour, 37 minutes |
| Docking with ISS (relocation)[a] | |
| Docking port | Harmony zenith |
| Docking date | July 21, 2021, 11:36 UTC |
| Undocking date | November 8, 2021, 19:05 UTC[5] |
| Time docked | 110 days, 7 hours, 29 minutes |
    From top to bottom, left to right: NASA,[6] SpaceX, JAXA, and ESA mission patches  From left:McArthur,Pesquet,Hoshide andKimbrough | |
SpaceX Crew-2 was the second operational flight of aCrew Dragon spacecraft, and the third overall crewed orbital flight of theCommercial Crew Program. The mission was launched on April 23, 2021, at 09:49:02UTC, and docked to theInternational Space Station on April 24 at 09:08 UTC.[2]
SpaceX Crew-2 used the same capsule asCrew Dragon Demo-2(Endeavour) and launched on the sameFalcon 9 booster asSpaceX Crew-1 (B1061.1).
With its return to Earth the evening of November 9, 2021, the mission set a record for the longest spaceflight by a U.S. crewed spacecraft with a mission duration of 199 days before being surpassed bySpaceX Crew-8 with a mission duration of 235 days respectively.[7]
On July 28, 2020,JAXA,ESA, andNASA confirmed theirastronaut assignments aboard this mission.[8][9]
| Position | Astronaut | |
|---|---|---|
| Commander | Shane Kimbrough,NASA Expedition 65/66 Third and last spaceflight | |
| Pilot | K. Megan McArthur,NASA Expedition 65/66 Second and last spaceflight | |
| Mission specialist | Akihiko Hoshide,JAXA Expedition 65/66 Third spaceflight | |
| Mission specialist | Thomas Pesquet,ESA Expedition 65/66 Second spaceflight | |
| Position | Astronaut | |
|---|---|---|
| Mission specialist | Satoshi Furukawa,JAXA | |
| Mission specialist | Matthias Maurer,ESA | |
German astronautMatthias Maurer was the backup for Pesquet, while Japanese astronautSatoshi Furukawa trained as backup to Hoshide.[9][10]
The second SpaceX operational mission in theCommercial Crew Program launched on April 23, 2021.[11][12] The Crew DragonEndeavour docked to theInternational Docking Adapter (IDA) at the forward port of theHarmony module. This was the first mission with astronauts on board to use a previously flown booster launch vehicle.[13][14]
All crew members were veteran astronauts, though this was Megan McArthur's first visit to the ISS (as her first spaceflight wasSTS-125, a mission to the Hubble Space Telescope). McArthur used the same seat on theCrew DragonEndeavour which her husband,Bob Behnken, used on theDemo-2 mission.[15]Akihiko Hoshide served as the second Japanese ISS commander during his stay.[8] It was the second mission byThomas Pesquet to the International Space Station and was namedAlpha, afterAlpha Centauri, the closest star system to Earth.[9]
To prepare for the arrival of aStarliner, theEndeavour docked toISS atHarmony forward port was undocked at 10:45 UTC and relocated toHarmony zenith port on July 21, 2021, at 11:36 UTC.[a]
WithCRS-23, (C208) andInspiration4 (Resilience), three Dragon spacecraft were in space at the same time, from September 16 to 18, 2021 (UTC).
| MET | Time | Date (UTC) | Event[16] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EDT | UTC | |||
| −6:40:00 | 11:09:00 PM | 03:09:00 | April 23 2021 | Crew wake |
| −05:30:00 | 0:19:02 AM | 04:19:02 | CE launch readiness briefing | |
| −05:00:00 | 0:49:02 AM | 04:49:02 | Launch shift on console | |
| −04:59:59 | 0:49:03 AM | 04:49:03 | Dragon IMU align and configure for launch. | |
| −04:30:00 | 1:19:02 AM | 04:19:02 | Dragonpropellant pressurization | |
| −04:20:00 | 1:29:02 AM | 04:29:02 | Crew weather brief | |
| −04:10:00 | 1:39:02 AM | 05:39:02 | Crew handoff | |
| −04:00:00 | 1:49:02 AM | 05:49:02 | Suit donning and checkouts | |
| −03:20:00 | 2:29:02 AM | 05:29:02 | Crew walk out ofNeil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building | |
| −03:15:00 | 2:34:02 AM | 05:34:02 | Crew transportation toLaunch Complex 39A (LC-39A) byTesla Model X with "RECYCLE" license plate | |
| −02:55:00 | 2:54:02 AM | 06:54:02 | Crew arrives at pad | |
| −02:35:00 | 3:14:02 AM | 07:14:02 | Crew ingress | |
| −02:20:00 | 3:29:02 AM | 07:29:02 | Communication check | |
| −02:15:00 | 3:34:02 AM | 07:34:02 | Verify ready for seat rotation | |
| −02:14:00 | 3:35:02 AM | 07:35:02 | Suit leak checks | |
| −01:55:00 | 3:54:02 AM | 07:54:02 | Hatch close | |
| −01:10:00 | 4:39:02 AM | 08:39:02 | ISS state upload to Dragon | |
| −00:45:00 | 5:04:02 AM | 09:04:02 | SpaceX launch director verifies go for propellant load | |
| −00:42:00 | 5:07:02 AM | 09:07:02 | Crew access arm retracts | |
| −00:38:00 | 5:11:02 AM | 09:11:02 | Dragonlaunch escape system is armed. | |
| −00:35:00 | 5:14:02 AM | 09:14:02 | RP-1 (rocket grade kerosene) loading begins; 1st stageLOX (liquid oxygen) loading begins. | |
| −00:16:00 | 5:33:02 AM | 09:33:02 | 2nd stage LOX loading begins. | |
| −00:07:00 | 5:42:02 AM | 09:42:02 | Falcon 9 begins engine chill prior to launch. | |
| −00:05:00 | 5:44:02 AM | 09:44:02 | Dragon transitions to internal power | |
| −00:01:00 | 5:48:02 AM | 09:48:02 | Command flight computer to begin final prelaunch checks; propellant tank pressurization to flight pressure begins. | |
| −00:00:45 | 5:48:17 AM | 09:48:17 | SpaceXlaunch director verifies go for launch. | |
| −00:00:03 | 5:48:59 AM | 09:48:59 | Engine controller commandsMerlin engine ignition sequence to start. | |
| 00:00:00 | 5:49:02 AM | 09:49:02 | Liftoff | |
| +00:01:02 | 5:50:04 AM | 09:50:04 | Max Q (moment of peak mechanical stress on the launch vehicle) | |
| +00:02:36 | 5:51:38 AM | 09:51:38 | 1st stage main engine cutoff (MECO) | |
| +00:02:39 | 5:51:41 AM | 09:51:41 | 1st and 2nd stages separate | |
| +00:02:47 | 5:51:49 AM | 09:51:49 | 2nd stage engine starts | |
| +00:07:27 | 5:56:29 AM | 09:56:29 | 1st stage entry burn | |
| +00:08:47 | 5:57:49 AM | 09:57:49 | 2nd stage engine cutoff (SECO-1) | |
| +00:09:03 | 5:58:05 AM | 09:58:05 | 1st stage landing burn | |
| +00:09:30 | 5:58:32 AM | 09:58:32 | 1st stage landing | |
| +00:11:58 | 6:01:00 AM | 10:01:00 | Crew Dragon separates from 2nd stage | |
| +00:13:02 | 6:02:04 AM | 10:02:04 | Dragon nosecone open sequence begins | |
| +1/ | 3:31 AM | 07:31 | April 24 2021 | Dragon starts the final phase of the approach to the ISS.[17] |
| +1/03:33 | 05:08 AM | 09:08 | Soft capture to the ISS.[18] | |
| +1/03:33 | 05:20 AM | 09:20 | Dragon docked to the ISS.[19] | |
| +1/05:34 | 7:15 AM | 11:15 | Hatch opened.[20] | |
NASA began a tradition of playing music to astronauts during theGemini program, and first used music to wake up a flight crew duringGemini 6; the first song wasHello, Dolly.[21] Each track is specially chosen, often by the astronauts' families, and usually has a special meaning to an individual member of the crew, or is applicable to their daily activities.[22]
| Flight Day | Song | Artist | Played for | Links |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Day 2 | An off-key, all flute comedic cover ofA-Ha's "Take On Me", made byYouTube artist "Shittyflute".[23] | A-ha (original) Shittyflute (Cover) | Thomas Pesquet | [1] |
Due to weather delays and a minor health problem with one of the SpaceX Crew-3 astronauts,[24] NASA decided to bring home the Crew-2 astronauts from the ISS before launching Crew-3, thus being the first Crew Dragon indirect handover of space station crews. The Crew Dragon undocked from the station at 19:05 UTC on November 8, 2021, and splashed down off the coast of Florida at 03:33 UTC on November 9, 2021.[5] One of four parachutes deployed slower than the others.[25]
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Mass: 12055 kg
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.See also:ISS expeditions,Uncrewed ISS flights | ||
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