posted 10-06-2021 10:35 AM               

Please use this topic to discuss SpaceX's Crew Dragon Crew-5 mission to the International Space Station.

NASA astronauts Nicole Mann and Josh Cassada, together with JAXA astronaut Koichi Wakata and a fourth crew member still to be named will fly the Crew-5 mission.

posted 12-08-2021 02:20 PM               

Anna Kikina, as part of the Roscosmos-NASA cross flights, will fly to the ISS in the fall of 2022 as part of the crew of an American commercial spacecraft. Accordingly, we will include the NASA astronaut in our crew on the Soyuz MS manned spacecraft.

posted 05-24-2022 06:07 PM               

The data associated with Dragon's recent crew reentries was normal – the system performed as designed without dispute. There has not been a hypergol leak during the return of a crewed Dragon mission nor any contamination with the heat shield causing excessive wear. SpaceX and NASA perform a full engineering review of the heat shield's thermal protection system following each return, including prior to the launch of the Crew-4 mission currently at the International Space Station. The heat shield composite structure (structure below the tile) was re-flown per normal planning and refurbishment processes. The thermal protection system on the primary heat shield for Crew-4 was new, as it has been for all human spaceflight missions. SpaceX has only demonstrated reuse of selected PICA (Phenolic-Impregnated Carbon Ablator) tiles, which is a lightweight material designed to withstand high temperatures, as part of the heat shield on cargo flights.

NASA and SpaceX are currently in the process of determining hardware allocation for the agency's upcoming SpaceX Crew-5 mission, including the Dragon heat shield. SpaceX has a rigorous testing process to put every component and system through its paces to ensure safety and reliability. In early May, a new heat shield composite structure intended for flight on Crew-5 did not pass an acceptance test. The test did its job and found a manufacturing defect. NASA and SpaceX will use another heat shield for the flight that will undergo the same rigorous testing prior to flight.

Crew safety remains the top priority for both NASA and SpaceX and we continue to target September 2022 for launch of Crew-5.