UPDATE: NASA has made further adjustments to the scheduled launch date for the Crew-7 mission. The targeted launch date, which was initially moved from August 17 to August 21, is now set for Friday, August 25. This article has been updated to reflect the latest change.
NASA and SpaceX have targeted Friday, August 25, as the revised launch date for the Crew-7 mission, destined for the International Space Station (ISS).
Originally planned for August 17, the agency had to revise the launch date for the Crew-7 mission due to schedule changes in several other NASA missions departing from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
The upcoming mission is scheduled for 3:49 a.m. ET (00:49 a.m. PT) launch, employing SpaceX’s reliable Falcon 9 rocket alongside the Crew Dragon capsule called “Endurance.” Notably, this capsule has previously participated in NASA’s SpaceX Crew-3 and Crew-5 missions to the orbital outpost.
In case of any weather-related concerns or technical challenges before the launch, backup opportunities for the Crew-7 mission are also accessible on Saturday and Sunday.
Later this month, four astronauts will embark on their journey to the space station. The team includes NASA’s Jasmin Moghbeli from the U.S., Andreas Mogensen from Denmark representing the European Space Agency, Satoshi Furukawa of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, and Konstantin Borisov from Roscosmos, representing Russia.
Following the launch, the crew will arrive at the ISS the next day, where they will reside and conduct their tasks for approximately six months at the orbital outpost situated around 250 miles above Earth.
Key aspects of the crew’s launch and arrival will be live-streamed by SpaceX.
The Crew-7 mission marks NASA’s first venture involving professional astronauts since the Crew-6 flight in February. In May, NASA also supervised the Ax-2 mission, which included the launch of private citizens to the ISS.
Thanks to SpaceX’s innovative reusable spaceflight system, NASA was able to resume crewed launches from U.S. soil in 2020. After the conclusion of NASA’s space shuttle program in 2011, the agency relied on Russian rockets and spacecraft for crew transportation.
Out of SpaceX’s ten crewed missions, nine have utilized the Crew Dragon to transport astronauts to the space station. The remaining mission employed a modified version of Crew Dragon featuring a glass dome to take four private citizens on a remarkable three-day orbit around Earth.
