NASA, SpaceX set date for Crew-5 launch
The next crewed mission from the Kennedy Space Center is targeting a Sept. 29 launch from pad 39-A.
There were two briefings Thursday for the mission. It'll be the first time a Russian cosmonaut will ride on a NASA SpaceX flight.
And Crew-5 will have the first female commander on a NASA SpaceX mission.
"I think that it's important that young girls realize that they have these leadership opportunities for them. But from an operational perspective. It really does not matter if you are a woman or a man, or what country you are from,” said Nicole Mann, Crew-5 commander.
The two NASA test pilots are joined by the cosmonaut and a veteran astronaut from the Japanese space agency.
In the mission leadership briefing, partner cooperation was repeatedly touched on. This is in light of Russia's announcement last week that it was pulling out of the space station in 2024.
The Russian space agency offered clarification.
"Perhaps something was lost in the translation but the statement actually said that Russia will not pull out of the program until after 2024,” Sergei Kirkalev said in Russian.
He said nothing will change until at least 2025 and maybe not until the end of the International Space Station mission in 2030.
And a new ride-share agreement between Roscosmos and NASA was announced recently.
Crew-5 mission will use Endurance Dragon crew spacecraft–same as the Crew-3 mission.
And a new Falcon 9 booster that was slightly damaged in transit is the reason the launch was pushed back to the end of September.
With a Russian mission to the International Space Station earlier in September, the Crew-5 date might need to shift even more.
"I suspect we will adjust that date a little bit as we get in a little closer due to the proximity of the Soyuz operations,” Steve Stich with NASA said.
But one message was clear in both the leadership and the crew briefings – partner cooperation.