NASA will send off four astronauts on the Crew-5 mission to the International Space Station (ISS) on Sept. 29. Crew-5 will be the fifth crew rotation mission that NASA launches aboard a Falcon 9 rocket from SpaceX.
According to WFTV, Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida will serve as the launch pad for the two-stage Falcon 9, which will carry the Crew Dragon.
Two NASA astronauts, Nicole Mann and Josh Cassada, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Koichi Wakata, and the Roscosmos cosmonaut Anna Kikina make up the crew of Crew-5.
SpaceX to Bring 4 Crew-5 Astronauts to International Space Station
SpaceX's human space transportation system will fly the Crew-5 team to the International Space station on the company's fifth crew mission.
The Russian cosmonaut will, however, be boarding Musk's SpaceX Dragon spacecraft atop a Falcon-9 rocket for the first time. Since the war in Ukraine started earlier this year, tensions between the US and Russia have been ongoing.
According to reports, the relations between the two nations had been put on hold. Washington has implemented severe penalties to sabotage Moscow's military and space projects.
Astronauts from NASA's SpaceX Crew-4 mission will dock with the space station and then fly down to Earth on the SpaceX Dragon Freedom in October.
The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon capsule on launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center on November 09, 2021 in Cape Canaveral, Florida.
Who Are The Crew-5 Team Members?
According to Republic World, here are the four members of the Crew-5 mission:
Josh Cassada: Cassada, a scientist and test pilot for the US Navy, was chosen by NASA in 2013. He completed his undergraduate studies in physics at Albion College and his doctoral studies in experimental high energy physics at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory at the University of Rochester. Cassada has more than 4,000 flying hours in more than 45 different aircraft and has worked as an instructor at the US Naval Test Pilot School.
Anna Kikina: In 2012, Kikina was chosen as a cosmonaut candidate for Roscosmos, and in 2014, she joined the Roscosmos cosmonaut corps. She participated in the SIRIUS international isolation experiment, which mimics a voyage to the Moon and associated experiments on the lunar surface, in 2017 as flight engineer No. 1. She has 153 parachute jumps to her credit and is a licensed airborne teacher. Kikina is a Master of Sports in polyathlon (all-around) and rafting.
Nicole Mann: Mann, a colonel in the Marine Corps who was chosen by NASA in 2013, has experience as a test pilot for the F/A-18 Hornet and Super Hornet. Additionally, she served on two aircraft carriers in Afghanistan and Iraq combat operations.
Koichi Wakata: Wakata, who will go on his sixth space mission, has already participated in long-duration ISS missions such as Expeditions 18, 19, and 20. He made two space flights in 1996: the STS-72 satellite recovery mission and the STS-92 ISS building mission.
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