NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur together with Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Aki Hoshide and European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Thomas Pesquet are assigned to fly the Crew-2 mission.
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 47348 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 07-28-2020 04:30 PM
From Megan McArthur (via Twitter):
At SpaceX this week for training with Shane Kimbrough, learning how to fly the Dragon.
Looks like I'll be the first European to ever ride a Dragon into space! Training has already started at SpaceX's futuristic facilities. Stay tuned for more updates... and wait, how do you install the "launch" app on these giant tablet-screens?
Delta7 Member
Posts: 1670 From: Bluffton IN USA Registered: Oct 2007
posted 07-28-2020 05:21 PM
Glad to see Megan McArthur finally going into space again and to the ISS. Kind of surprised that Kjell Lindgren wasn't assigned to this flight after backing up Demo-2 and Crew-1.
MSS Member
Posts: 937 From: Europe Registered: May 2003
posted 09-23-2020 11:14 AM
From Thomas Pesquet (via Twitter):
Here's the posse together, training on SpaceX crew Dragon. Aki Hoshide looking like a boss, and all of us wishing we had as cool socks as our awesome pilot Megan McArthur.
MSS Member
Posts: 937 From: Europe Registered: May 2003
posted 11-01-2020 04:50 PM
From Shane Kimbrough via Instagram:
Enjoyed some beautiful fall weather and great training with Thomas Pesquet and Megan McArthur at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia.
MSS Member
Posts: 937 From: Europe Registered: May 2003
posted 02-09-2021 01:55 PM
The first look at Crew-2 portrait (via NASA):
The official portrait of the SpaceX Crew-2 crew members. From left are, NASA astronaut and Pilot Megan McArthur; European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut and Mission Specialist Thomas Pesquet; JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut and Mission Specialist Akihiko Hoshide; and NASA astronaut and Commander Shane Kimbrough.
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 47348 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 03-01-2021 12:18 PM
Crew 2 poster (via Thomas Pesquet on Twitter):
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 47348 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 03-05-2021 04:53 PM
Per a NASA release today:
The launch, on a Falcon 9 rocket, is targeted for no earlier than Thursday, April 22, from Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
That would be a 6:11 a.m. EDT (1011 GMT) liftoff, about 38 minutes before sunrise. Docking at the space station would follow at 7:05 a.m. EDT (1105 GMT) on April 23 (source).
MSS Member
Posts: 937 From: Europe Registered: May 2003
posted 03-29-2021 04:16 PM
From NASA (press release):
From left, European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Thomas Pesquet,Crew-2 mission specialist-2; NASA astronaut Megan McArthur, Crew-2 pilot; NASA astronaut Shane Kimbrough, Crew-2 spacecraft commander; and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Akihiko Hoshide, Crew-2 mission specialist-1.
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 47348 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 04-05-2021 06:43 PM
The Crew-2 astronauts recently visited Kennedy Space Center, where they saw the Falcon 9 rocket that will launch them to space.
The four wrote their initials in the soot on their Falcon 9 first stage, which previously launched Crew-1 in November 2020.
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 47348 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 04-14-2021 05:13 PM
SpaceX photo release
SpaceX's Crew Dragon, named Endeavour, is lifted and mated to the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket at NASA Kennedy Space Center's Launch Complex 39A beginning April 13, 2021.
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 47348 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 04-16-2021 10:36 AM
NASA video
On Friday (April 16) at 1 p.m. EDT (17:00 UTC), the four Crew-2 astronauts are scheduled to arrive by plane at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, less than one week before their scheduled April 22 launch aboard the Crew Dragon Endeavour to the International Space Station (ISS).
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 47348 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 04-17-2021 07:33 AM
From SpaceX (via Twitter):
Static fire test of Falcon 9 complete – targeting Thursday, April 22 at 6:11 a.m. EDT for launch of Dragon's second operational mission to the International Space Station.
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 47348 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 04-23-2021 01:11 AM
NASA live video
Watch live as four astronauts launch from Earth to their new home in space, the International Space Station.
At 5:49 a.m. EDT (9:49 UTC), the SpaceX Crew Dragon Endeavour spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket will lift off from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
posted 04-23-2021 03:23 AM
Good luck to the SpaceX launch team and Crew-2.
denali414 Member
Posts: 810 From: Raleigh, NC Registered: Aug 2017
posted 04-23-2021 05:16 AM
Very cool! Saw the Falcon separation and rocket streaking across the eastern sky in Raleigh, North Carolina just now. A nice unexpected morning.
posted 04-23-2021 05:38 AM
Here are my Crew-2 launch photos from the Savannah, Georgia area. The first one is the launch, the second one is the second stage — that little dot in the right corner is the first stage fly back burn — and then the last picture is of it going over the horizon.
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 47348 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 04-23-2021 07:09 AM
SpaceX live video
Crew-2 is currently in orbit and is expected to autonomously dock with the International Space Station on Saturday, April 24, at approximately 5:10 a.m. EDT, 9:10 UTC.
Pete Sarmiento Member
Posts: 77 From: Fort Washington, MD, USA Registered: Mar 2006
posted 04-23-2021 02:40 PM
That was a smooth sailing launch. It's getting to be a routine launch!
ejectr Member
Posts: 1861 From: Killingly, CT Registered: Mar 2002
posted 04-24-2021 10:07 AM
That's a good thing...
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 47348 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 04-24-2021 01:21 PM
From Crew-1 commander Michael Hopkins (via Twitter):
Resilience welcomed her sibling Endeavour to the space station.
tlifan2 Member
Posts: 53 From: Palm Coast, Florida Registered: Feb 2014
posted 04-24-2021 08:20 PM
Amazing launch. The two photos show both the second stage boosting Dragon into orbit as well as the first stage descending downward for a landing. In the first photo the white object on the left is the second stage and the white object on the right is the spent first stage. What was so special about this launch was that on the spent first stage you could see the thrusters firing to keep the booster vertical on the way down.
The second photo shows the second stage on the left and the Dragon engine firing to slow the spent first stage down on the right.
Aeropix Member
Posts: 56 From: Houston Registered: Apr 2010
posted 04-25-2021 03:28 AM
Wow, when was the last time two American launched crewed spacecraft were in orbit together (not including the ISS itself, Skylab, nor the Apollo CM/LM combinations)? Was it the Gemini missions?
That's awesome to see two launched vehicles from the US together in orbit. It's some kind of historical event that I think deserves more attention.
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 47348 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 04-25-2021 12:52 PM
From Thomas Pesquet (via Flickr):
I took a very lucky shot: as I was getting out of my spacesuit and looking out the window, I happened to spot our second stage of the Falcon 9 rocket, casually flying in formation with us on a perfectly parallel track, but lower... two tiny objects 200 km above Earth!
A series of maneuvers changed our trajectory (and the second stage) and soon we were on diverging paths! Thanks for the ride, though, and so long Falcon 9 (maybe I'll see our first stage again since it landed successfully).
SkyMan1958 Member
Posts: 1120 From: CA. Registered: Jan 2011
posted 04-25-2021 07:55 PM
Does anyone know if SpaceX was/is planning to deorbit this second stage?
Normally I thought they did deorbit the second stage, and that was why the one that landed in the Pacific NW was such an oddity.
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 47348 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 04-25-2021 08:15 PM
According to Jonathan McDowell, who tracks such things:
The second stage has not been cataloged and is presumed to have been deorbited in the target zone west of Australia.
brianjbradley Member
Posts: 137 From: Toronto, Ontario, Canada Registered: Dec 2010
posted 04-29-2021 03:26 PM
Did anyone see/find out what the Crew-2 wake-up call was on ISS docking day?
Ken Havekotte Member
Posts: 3329 From: Merritt Island, Florida, Brevard Registered: Mar 2001
posted 04-29-2021 04:09 PM
quote:Originally posted by Aeropix: Was it the Gemini missions?
The first U.S. human spaceflight program with two separate crews flying in space on different missions would be Gemini with GT-7/6 in 1965.
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 47348 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 04-29-2021 10:49 PM
quote:Originally posted by brianjbradley: ...what the Crew-2 wake-up call was
If there was a wake-up call, it was not made public.
The Mission Control loops were muted on the NASA TV broadcast until after the crew was awake and proceeding with their post-sleep period.
MSS Member
Posts: 937 From: Europe Registered: May 2003
posted 04-30-2021 02:17 AM
It's this theme posted as mp4 file on NSF forum at this link?
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 47348 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 04-30-2021 08:46 AM
No, that was the music being played on NASA TV to the public. The broadcast included several intermissions when that theme was played and the Dragon to ground audio loop was muted (or not active).
MSS Member
Posts: 937 From: Europe Registered: May 2003
posted 04-30-2021 10:26 AM
So I have asked NASA about this a wake-up call then and I understand why it didn't answer such question, Robert.
It probably was cut from reruns, wasn't it?
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 47348 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 04-30-2021 11:15 AM
It wasn't cut; it never aired. The audio between Hawthorne and Dragon was not broadcast to the public when the crew awoke.
Given that the mission commentators made no mention of it, it is possible there was no wake-up call.
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 47348 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 07-25-2021 10:31 AM
The wake-up call has now been revealed and now it is clear why it was not broadcast. From flight director Zebulon Scoville (via Twitter):
Due to FOIA [the Freedom of Information Act], it is now public domain that Crew-2 and Thomas Pesquet picked the best wake up music for the voyage to space station. Should you wish to listen, remember no true adventure is fun while it's happening. Ad astra!
lspooz Member
Posts: 425 From: Greensboro, NC USA Registered: Aug 2012
posted 07-25-2021 03:33 PM
Well, still not as disturbing as "Paralyzed," but fun nonetheless.
oly Member
Posts: 1310 From: Perth, Western Australia Registered: Apr 2015
posted 07-26-2021 05:34 AM
I have to admit that this would wake me up.
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 47348 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 11-08-2021 12:02 PM
NASA and SpaceX video
Tune in LIVE from space to watch the Crew Dragon Endeavour spacecraft undock from the International Space Station, with four astronauts aboard: Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur of NASA, Thomas Pesquet of the European Space Agency, and Akihiko Hoshide of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. Undocking is scheduled at 2:05 p.m. EST (1905 GMT).
Splashdown off the coast of Florida is targeted for 10:33 p.m. EST Mon., Nov. 8. (0333 GMT Nov. 9).
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 47348 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 11-08-2021 04:21 PM
NASA and SpaceX video
Their spacecraft has undocked from the International Space Station, and four astronauts are on the journey home to Earth. Watch live as the SpaceX Crew Dragon Endeavour re-enters the atmosphere, and parachutes to splashdown in a landing zone off the coast of Florida.
Splashdown off the coast of Pensacola, Florida is targeted for 10:33 p.m. EST Nov. 8 (03:33 UTC Nov. 9).
Paul78zephyr Member
Posts: 734 From: Hudson, MA Registered: Jul 2005
posted 11-08-2021 10:55 PM
Why did it initially appear that one of the main parachutes had failed and/or had taken longer to become inflated?
Also, why the use of stretchers for crew egress? I know they said it was 'normal' procedure but I specifically recall Michael Hopkins walking away from the Crew-1 Dragon after 6 months in space. Thank you.
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 47348 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 11-09-2021 08:48 AM
Kathy Lueders, NASA's associate administrator for space operations, said they had seen this type of delayed unfurling of one parachute during earlier tests and that it occurred when the risers got bound up with another of the parachutes. She said the reason that it was not of immediate concern was because the descent velocity unaffected.
NASA will review the parachute performance as part of its flight readiness review for the Crew-3 launch today and will likely comment further about it at the press conference to follow tonight.
As for the crew using stretchers, it may have been something as simple as they not feeling up to walking. I could offer other reasons, but without any information, it would be pure speculation.