NASA and SpaceX are gearing up for the sixth crew rotation mission to the International Space Station (ISS). During a media teleconference on Tuesday, February 21st, NASA provided an update on the mission, named Crew-6. The launch is scheduled for Monday, February 27th, at 1:45 a.m. EST, from Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
The Crew-6 mission will carry two NASA astronauts, Mission Commander Stephen Bowen and Pilot Warren Hoburg, along with UAE astronaut Sultan Alneyadi and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev as mission specialists, to the ISS for a science expedition mission. They will fly aboard SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft Endeavour, which will be carried by the company’s Falcon 9 rocket.
The mission has undergone extensive review to ensure its readiness for launch. On Tuesday, managers from NASA and SpaceX, along with international partners, held a Flight Readiness Review (FRR) to assess the preparedness of the crew transportation system, the ISS, and its international partners to support the flight. The FRR also certified the flight’s readiness.
The Crew-6 mission is expected to last up to six months before the crew returns to Earth. This mission marks the fourth spaceflight for Bowen, who has flown on space shuttle missions STS-126 in 2008, STS-132 in 2010, and STS-133 in 2011. This will be the first spaceflight for Hoburg, Alneyadi, and Fedyaev.
The launch of Crew-6 will be broadcasted live on NASA TV and the agency’s website, beginning at 10 p.m. EST on Sunday, February 26th, before liftoff. The mission marks another important milestone in the partnership between NASA and SpaceX, which began with the historic Demo-2 mission in May 2020 and has continued with regular crew rotations to the ISS.
