NASA SpaceX Crew-6 Prepares for Launch

February 22, 2023 – The crew of the NASA and SpaceX mission has arrived on the Space Coast for the launch that is now set for Monday, Feb. 27 at 1:45 a.m. The team boasts an international vibe, with Russian Cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev of Roscosmos, Sultan Alneyadi of the United Arab Emirates, NASA astronaut Woody Hoburg and NASA’s Stephen Bowen, Crew-6 Commander.  Bowen, who flew space shuttle missions STS-126 in 2008, STS-132 in 2010, and STS-133 in 2011, will be experiencing his fourth spaceflight, while the rest of the crew will all launch from here for the first time.

This will be the ninth overall crewed orbital flight and the sixth crewed operational NASA Commercial Crew of a Crew Dragon spacecraft.

After docking, Crew-6 will be welcomed inside the station by the seven-member crew of Expedition 69. The astronauts of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-5 mission will undock from the space station and splash down off the coast of Florida several days after Crew-6’s arrival.

Crew-6 will conduct new scientific research to prepare for human exploration beyond low-Earth orbit and benefit life on Earth. Experiments will include studies of how particular materials burn in microgravity, tissue chip research on heart, brain, and cartilage functions, and an investigation that will collect microbial samples from the outside of the space station. These are just some of the more than 200 science experiments and technology demonstrations that will take place during their mission.

During their stay aboard the orbiting laboratory, Crew-6 will see the arrival of cargo spacecraft including the SpaceX Dragon and the Roscosmos Progress. Crew-6 also is expected to welcome the agency’s Boeing Crew Flight Test astronauts and the Axiom Mission-2 crew during their expedition.

Crew-6 will spend up to six months at the space station before returning to Earth.

Source: NASA