NASA announced on Monday, October 3, that the SpaceX Crew-5 mission's launch readiness review is complete. The crew is now set to launch to the International Space Station (ISS) on Wednesday, October 5, after being delayed by poor weather conditions.
Liftoff is scheduled at noon Eastern Time from Launch Complex 39A in Kennedy Space Center, Florida. Cape Canaveral Space Force Station's 45th Weather Squadron officials predict a 90% chance of favorable weather this Wednesday. UPI reported that hurricane Ian previously delayed the launch of the Crew-5 mission, as well as the Artemis 1 moon test flight.
SpaceX Crew-5 Mission
The astronauts have completed their pre-launch rehearsal, and the Endurance Dragon Spacecraft is already mounted aboard the Falcon 9 rocket, which is sitting on the launchpad at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
The members of the Crew-5 mission include NASA astronauts Nicole Mann and Josh Cassada, Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAX) astronaut Koichi Wakata, and Russian cosmonaut Anna Kikina.
Fox Business reports that the crew is expected to arrive at the space station one after liftoff and are scheduled to dock on the station's Harmony module at 4:57 pm ET on Thursday, October 6. They will be spending six months on board to conduct scientific experiments, tech demonstrations, and maintenance activities before going back to Earth.
It is the fifth crewed mission courtesy of the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft on a Falcon 9 rocket to the space station as part of the Commercial Crew Program of NASA. The mission is Mann and Cassada's first flight after becoming astronauts in 2013.
They will be replacing the Crew-4 who will undock from the space station and splash down off the coast of Florida several days after the arrival of the Crew-5.
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Diversity in Space: First Native American to the ISS
The members of the Crew-5 mission are also notable as one of them is the first Native American woman ever to travel to the space station. NASA's Nicole Aunapu Mann who is a former US Marine Corps pilot will serve as mission commander with a role that is thought of as the crew-s quarterback.
According to CNN, this will be a historic journey, especially for Mann as this will be her first space trip. On her travel, she is carrying special mementos, including her wedding rings, a surprise gift for her family, and a dream catcher given by her mother.
Mann's role as mission commander means that she is responsible for making sure that the spacecraft is on track from the time it launches until it docks at the space station and again when it returns to Earth after its six-month stay. This is the first time that a woman has become the commander on a SpaceX mission although there are a couple of women before during the Space Shuttle Program.
Moreover, her crewmates also represent a range of cultural backgrounds, wherein one comes from Japan and is the first Russian cosmonaut to join the mission as part of a US-Russian ride-sharing agreement.
"I am very proud to represent Native Americans and my heritage," Mann said to reporters during a news conference on Saturday, October 1. "I think it's important to celebrate our diversity and also realize how important it is when we collaborate and unite, the incredible accomplishments that we can have."
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