posted 03-24-2022 09:07 AM               

NASA, ESA Assign Astronauts to Space Station Mission on Crew Dragon

NASA and ESA (European Space Agency) have selected two astronauts to launch on NASA's SpaceX Crew-7 mission to the International Space Station.

NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli and ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen will serve as spacecraft commander and pilot, respectively, for the mission. Two mission specialists will be announced later, following review by NASA and its international partners.

Above: ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Andreas Mogensen and NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli. (NASA)

The mission is expected to launch no earlier than 2023 on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Moghbeli, Mogensen, and the additional mission specialists will join an expedition crew aboard the space station.

This will be the first spaceflight for Moghbeli, who became a NASA astronaut in 2017. Moghbeli is from Baldwin, New York, and earned a bachelor's degree in aerospace engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and a master's degree in aerospace engineering from the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California.

As an AH-1W Super Cobra pilot and Marine Corps test pilot, she has flown more than 150 missions accruing 2,000 hours of flight time in more than 25 different aircraft. She also graduated with honors from the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School in Patuxent River, Maryland. At the time of her selection as an astronaut, Moghbeli was testing H-1 helicopters and serving as the quality assurance and avionics officer for VMX-1. She is also the proud mom of twin girls.

This will be Mogensen's second trip to the space station as a veteran of the ESA 10-day Iriss mission in 2015, for which he served as a flight engineer. Mogensen was the flight engineer on Soyuz TMA-18M spacecraft during launch and Soyuz TMA-16M during the return flight. Mogensen has logged 9 days, 20 hours, and 9 minutes in space.

He was born in Copenhagen, Denmark, and graduated with an international baccalaureate from the Copenhagen International School, a master's degree in aeronautical engineering from Imperial College London, and a doctorate in aerospace engineering from the University of Texas at Austin. In 2015, Mogensen became the first Danish person to go to space and currently is serving as the European astronaut liaison officer to NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston.

posted 05-25-2023 01:41 PM               

Mission Specialist Assigned to NASA's SpaceX Crew-7 Mission

Astronaut Satoshi Furukawa from JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) has been selected as a mission specialist for NASA's SpaceX Crew-7 mission – the agency's seventh rotational mission to the International Space Station.

Furukawa joins NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Andreas Mogensen, who will serve as spacecraft commander and pilot, respectively. An additional crew member will be assigned at a later date.

Furukawa spent 165 days aboard the orbiting laboratory in 2011 as a flight engineer with Expeditions 28 and 29. As part of his duties, he helped support the final space shuttle mission, STS-135.

This will be the first spaceflight for Moghbeli, who became a NASA astronaut in 2017, and the first long-duration mission for Mogensen. He previously served as a flight engineer on a 10-day mission to the space station in 2015. Crew-7 will be his second trip to space.

NASA and SpaceX are targeting no earlier than mid-August for the launch of Crew-7, aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The four astronauts will join an expedition crew aboard the space station.

posted 06-16-2023 07:32 PM               

Mission Specialist Assigned to Crew-7 Space Station Mission

The final crew member for NASA's SpaceX Crew-7 mission, currently targeted to launch to the International Space Station in mid-August, has been announced.

Above: The four crew members who comprise the SpaceX Crew-7 mission pose for a photo in their spacesuits during a training session at the company's headquarters in Hawthorne, California. From left are, Mission Specialist Konstantin Borisov, Pilot Andreas Mogensen, Commander Jasmin Moghbeli,, and Mission Specialist Satoshi Furukawa. (SpaceX)

Roscosmos cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov will fly as a mission specialist on SpaceX's seventh rotational mission to the orbiting laboratory for NASA.

Borisov joins previously named crew members NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Andreas Mogensen, and astronaut Satoshi Furukawa from JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency).

This will be the first spaceflight for Borisov, who entered the Roscosmos Cosmonaut Corps as a test cosmonaut candidate in 2018.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch Crew-7 aboard a Dragon spacecraft, named Endurance, from Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The spacecraft previously flew NASA's SpaceX Crew-3 and Crew-5 missions.

NASA and Roscosmos fly integrated crews on U.S. crew spacecraft and on the Soyuz spacecraft to ensure continued safe operations of the International Space Station and the safety of its crew. Integrated crews have been the norm throughout the International Space Station Program, as five space agencies (the Canadian Space Agency, the European Space Agency, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, NASA, and Roscosmos) operate the station, with each space agency responsible for managing and controlling the hardware it provides.

The station was designed to be interdependent and relies on contributions from each space agency to function. No one agency has the capability to function independent of the others. For continued safe operations of the space station, the integrated crew agreement helps ensure that each crewed spacecraft docked to the station includes an integrated crew with trained crew members in both the Russian and U.S. Operating Segment systems.

posted 08-26-2023 02:45 AM               

'All-international' Crew-7 launch on SpaceX Dragon 'Endurance' to space station

A crew of four astronauts from four countries — a rare occurrence in the history of spaceflight — are now on their way to the International Space Station having launched together on a U.S. commercial spacecraft.

Led by commander Jasmin Moghbeli of NASA, pilot Andreas Mogensen of ESA (European Space Agency) and mission specialists Satoshi Furukawa of JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) and Konstantin Borisov of Russia's space corporation Roscosmos lifted off aboard SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft "Endurance" as members of the Crew-7 mission at 3:27 a.m. EDT (0727 GMT) on Saturday (Aug. 26).

posted 08-27-2023 08:17 AM               

Dragon Endurance docks at space station

NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Andreas Mogensen, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Satoshi Furukawa and Roscosmos cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov arrived at the International Space Station on Sunday (Aug. 27). The SpaceX Dragon "Endurance" made contact with the station at 9:16 a.m. EDT (1316 GMT).

Following the Dragon's docking to the space-facing port of the Harmony module, the astronauts aboard Endurance and the space station were to begin conducting standard leak checks and pressurization between the spacecraft and then proceed with hatch opening.

Moghbeli, Mogensen, Furukawa and Borisov are joining the Expedition 69 crew of Frank Rubio, Stephen Bowen and Woody Hoburg all of NASA, Sultan AlNeyadi of the UAE (United Arab Emirates) and cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev, Dmitry Petelin and Andrey Fedyaev of Roscosmos. For a brief time, the number of crew members on the space station will increase to 11 people until SpaceX's Crew-6 departs with Bowen, Hoburg, AlNeyadi and Fedyaev in early September.

posted 03-11-2024 10:55 AM               

Dragon undocks from station, heads for Earth

The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft with Crew-7 aboard undocked from the forward-facing port of the International Space Station’s Harmony module on Monday (March 11) at 11:20 a.m. EDT (1520 GMT) to complete a nearly six-month science mission.

The Dragon is scheduled to splash down at approximately 5:50 a.m. EDT (0950 GMT) on Tuesday, off the coast of Florida.

posted 03-12-2024 09:58 AM               

Splashdown! NASA's SpaceX Crew-7 Finishes Mission, Returns to Earth

NASA's SpaceX Crew-7 completed the agency's seventh commercial crew rotation mission to the International Space Station on Tuesday (March 12) after splashing down safely in a Dragon spacecraft off the coast of Pensacola, Florida. The international crew of four spent 199 days in orbit.

Above: Support teams work around the SpaceX Dragon Endurance spacecraft shortly after it landed in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Pensacola, Florida, Tuesday, March 12, 2024. ((NASA/Joel Kowsky)

NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Andreas Mogensen, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Satoshi Furukawa, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov, returned to Earth splashing down at 5:47 a.m. EDT (0947 GMT). Teams aboard SpaceX recovery vessels retrieved the spacecraft and its crew. After returning to shore, the crew will fly to NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston.

"After more than six months aboard the International Space Station, NASA's SpaceX Crew-7 has safely returned home," said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. "This international crew showed that space unites us all. It's clear that we can do more – we can learn more – when we work together. The science experiments conducted during their time in space will help prepare for NASA's bold missions at the Moon, Mars, and beyond, all while benefitting humanity here on Earth."

Moghbeli, Mogensen, Furukawa, and Borisov traveled 84,434,094 miles during their mission, spent 197 days aboard the space station, and completed 3,184 orbits around Earth. The Crew-7 mission was the first spaceflight for Moghbeli and Borisov. Mogensen has logged 209 days in space over his two flights, and Furukawa has logged 366 days in space over his two flights.

Above: Roscosmos cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov, left, ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen, NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli, and JAXA astronaut Satoshi Furukawa are seen inside the SpaceX Dragon Endurance spacecraft onboard the SpaceX recovery ship "Megan" shortly after having landed in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Pensacola, Florida, Tuesday, March 12, 2024. ((NASA/Joel Kowsky)

Throughout their mission, the Crew-7 members contributed to a host of science and maintenance activities and technology demonstrations. Moghbeli conducted one spacewalk, joined by NASA astronaut Loral O'Hara, replacing one of the 12 trundle bearing assemblies on the port solar alpha rotary joint, which allows the arrays to track the Sun and generate electricity to power the station.

The crew contributed to hundreds of experiments and technology demonstrations, including the first study of human response to different spaceflight durations, and an experiment growing food on the space station.

This was the third flight of the Dragon spacecraft, named Endurance. It also previously supported the Crew-3 and Crew-5 missions. The spacecraft will return to Florida for inspection and processing at SpaceX's refurbishing facility at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, where teams will inspect the Dragon, analyze data on its performance, and process it for its next flight.

The Crew-7 flight is part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program and its return to Earth follows on the heels of NASA's SpaceX Crew-8 launch, which docked to the station March 5, beginning another science expedition.