SpaceX Crew-5

SpaceX Crew-5 was the fifth operational NASA Commercial Crew Program flight of a Crew Dragon spacecraft, and the eighth overall crewed orbital flight. The mission launched on 5 October 2022 and transported four crew members to the International Space Station (ISS), docking there on 6 October 2022 at 21:01 UTC. Two NASA astronauts, one JAXA astronaut, and one Russian cosmonaut are participating in the mission. Three of the crew members were assigned following delays to Boeing's Starliner program. Commander Nicole Mann was reassigned to the flight from Boeing's Boe-CFT mission, while Pilot Josh Cassada and Mission Specialist Koichi Wakata transferred from Boeing Starliner-1.[5][6] Anna Kikina was reassigned from Soyuz MS-22. For three of the four crew members, this was their first space flight, while Wakata was a veteran of four previous space flights.

SpaceX Crew-5
Crew Dragon Endurance lifts off from LC-39A with the Crew-5 astronauts aboard.
NamesUSCV-5
Mission typeISS crew transport
OperatorSpaceX
COSPAR ID2022-124A
SATCAT no.53963Edit this on Wikidata
Mission duration157 days, 10 hours and 1 minute [1]
Spacecraft properties
SpacecraftCrew Dragon Endurance
Spacecraft typeCrew Dragon
ManufacturerSpaceX
Launch mass12,519 kg (27,600 lb)
Landing mass9,616 kg (21,200 lb)
Crew
Crew size4
Members
Start of mission
Launch date5 October 2022, 16:00:57 UTC[3]
RocketFalcon 9, B1077.1
Launch siteKennedy Space Center, LC-39A
ContractorSpaceX
End of mission
Recovered byShannon (ship)
Landing date12 March 2023, 02:02 UTC[4]
Landing siteGulf of Mexico
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric orbit
RegimeLow Earth orbit
Inclination51.68°
Docking with ISS
Docking portHarmony forward
Docking date6 October 2022, 21:01 UTC
Undocking date11 March 2023, 07:20 UTC
Time docked155 days, 10 hours and 19 minutes

SpaceX Crew-5 mission patch

(L-R) Kikina, Cassada, Mann and Wakata
 

Crew

This mission was the first Crew Dragon mission to fly a Russian cosmonaut, Anna Kikina who was selected in July 2022 for this mission as a part of the Soyuz-Dragon crew swap system of keeping at least one NASA astronaut and one Roscosmos cosmonaut on each of the crew rotation missions. This ensures both countries have a presence on the station, and the ability to maintain their separate systems if either Soyuz or commercial crew vehicles are grounded for an extended period.[7] This was the first time a Russian cosmonaut flew on a U.S. spacecraft since Nikolai Budarin flew on STS-113 and also first launch of a Russian cosmonaut on a U.S. space capsule. The seat exchange was approved in June 2022 (by the Russians only).[8]

Prime crew
Position Astronaut
Spacecraft commander United States Nicole Aunapu Mann, NASA
Expedition 68
First spaceflight
Pilot United States Josh A. Cassada, NASA
Expedition 68
First spaceflight
Mission Specialist 1 Japan Koichi Wakata, JAXA
Expedition 68
Fifth spaceflight
Mission Specialist 2 Russia Anna Kikina[2], Roscosmos
Expedition 68
First spaceflight

Mission

The fifth SpaceX operational mission in the Commercial Crew Program (CCP) launched on 5 October 2022 and returned to Earth on 11 March 2023. [3]

Crew-5 Commercial Crew Poster
Crew-5 sits atop Falcon 9 at LC-39A

Backup for Soyuz MS-22 Crew Return

A micro-meteorite punctured a 0.8 mm diameter (0.031 in) hole in the radiator of Soyuz MS-22,[9] raising doubts over its safety. It was therefore replaced with Soyuz MS-23, launched uncrewed on 24 February 2023.[10][11]

Until the replacement MS-23 docked to ISS, SpaceX Crew-5 was considered among the options to return the MS-22 crew, in case of emergency. SpaceX originally designed Crew Dragon to host a crew of seven at a time. The International Space Station mission management team decided to move NASA astronaut Francisco Rubio's Soyuz seat liner from the Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft to Dragon Endurance, to provide lifeboat capabilities in the event Rubio needed to return to Earth because of an emergency evacuation from the space station. The seat liner was moved on 17 January 2023, with installation and configuration continuing the following day. Seat liners have been swapped between two Soyuz, but this was the first time for Soyuz to Crew Dragon. The change allowed for increased crew protection by reducing the heat load inside the MS-22 spacecraft for cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitry Petelin in the event of an emergency return to Earth. The SpaceX Crew-6 space capsule is designed to bring back crew serving as an emergency evacuation option after Crew-5.[12]

As MS-23 arrived at the space station on 26 February, Rubio’s seat liner was transferred to the new Soyuz on 6 March and the seat liners for Prokopyev and Petelin were moved from MS-22 to MS-23 on 2 March, ahead of their return in the Soyuz.[13]

References
  1. "SpaceX F9 / Crew Dragon : Crew-5 : KSC LC-39A : NET 5 Oct 2022 (16:00:57 UTC)".
  2. "Roscosmos head hinted yesterday that crossover flights to #ISS, including launch of Russian cosmonaut Anna Kikina on the US Crew Dragon, would proceed as scheduled".
  3. Clark, Stephen (28 September 2022). "SpaceX, ULA postpone launches as Hurricane Ian moves toward Florida". Spaceflight Now. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
  4. "NASA's SpaceX Crew-5 Splash Down Near Florida Coast, Safe on Earth". NASA (Press release). 11 March 2023. Retrieved 30 March 2023.
  5. "NASA Announces Astronaut Changes for Upcoming Commercial Crew Missions" (Press release). NASA. 6 October 2021. Retrieved 6 October 2021. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  6. @jaxa_wdc (12 October 2021). "JAXA has announced their WAKATA Koichi @Astro_Wakata is headed for the International Space Station aboard SpaceX's…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  7. Foust, Jeff (26 October 2021). "Rogozin says Crew Dragon safe for Russian cosmonauts". SpaceNews. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
  8. "Распоряжение Правительства Российской Федерации от 10.06.2022 № 1532-р ∙ Официальное опубликование правовых актов ∙ Официальный интернет-портал правовой информации". publication.pravo.gov.ru. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
  9. "Госкорпорация «Роскосмос»".
  10. Pavlushchenko, Katya [@katlinegrey] (19 December 2022). "A big update on the incident with #SoyuzMS22 appeared on the Roscosmos website: t.co/cJGMOhh9Xr. Quick summary in the thread below. ⤵️ t.co/Gj1SCTG49j" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 19 December 2022. Retrieved 20 December 2022 – via Twitter.
  11. Tyler Gray (25 February 2023). "Uncrewed Soyuz MS-23 "rescue" mission arrives at ISS". nasaspaceflight.com. Retrieved 28 March 2023.
  12. Expedition 68 NASA's SpaceX Crew-6 Leaders Discuss Mission - Jan. 25, 2023, retrieved 14 February 2023
  13. Garcia, Mark. "Spacewalk Preps Continue as Soyuz Seat Move Planned as Precaution". blogs.nasa.gov. Retrieved 14 January 2023. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
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