SpaceX, the aerospace company founded by entrepreneur Elon Musk, has once again made history with its latest launch. On March 14, 2021, the company successfully launched the Crew-10 mission from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. This mission marks the fourth crewed flight for SpaceX and the first operational mission for the company’s Crew Dragon spacecraft.
The Crew-10 mission is significant for several reasons. First and foremost, it signifies the return of NASA astronauts launching from American soil on an American rocket. Since the retirement of the Space Shuttle program in 2011, NASA has relied on Russian Soyuz rockets to transport its astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS). The successful launch of Crew-10 is a major step towards restoring America’s capability to launch its own astronauts into space.
The four astronauts on board the Crew-10 mission are NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur, along with Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Akihiko Hoshide, and European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Thomas Pesquet. They will be joining the current ISS crew, which includes NASA astronauts Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover, and Shannon Walker, as well as JAXA astronaut Soichi Noguchi. This will bring the total number of ISS crew members to seven, the most since 2015.
One of the main objectives of the Crew-10 mission is to rotate the current ISS crew, known as Crew-9. This includes NASA astronauts Mike Hopkins and Shannon Walker, who have been on the ISS since November 2020, and JAXA astronaut Soichi Noguchi, who arrived at the ISS in December. The two other members of Crew-9, Russian cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov, will return to Earth in April.
The arrival of Crew-10 will also bring about a change in leadership on the ISS. NASA astronaut Shane Kimbrough will take over as the commander of the ISS, making him the first person to command two different spacecraft (he previously commanded the Space Shuttle Endeavour in 2011). This is a testament to his experience and expertise in spaceflight.
The successful launch of the Crew-10 mission is a significant milestone for SpaceX, as it is the first operational mission for the company’s Crew Dragon spacecraft. The Crew Dragon was previously tested in two Demo missions, with the first one sending two NASA astronauts to the ISS in May 2020 and the second one sending four astronauts (including one from JAXA) in November 2020. Both of these missions were successful, paving the way for the Crew-10 mission to continue the partnership between NASA and SpaceX.
The Falcon 9 rocket, which carried the Crew Dragon spacecraft, lifted off from the historic Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center at 4:37 am EDT on March 14. The launch was smooth and successful, with the rocket separating from the spacecraft approximately 12 minutes after liftoff. The Crew Dragon spacecraft, named “Endeavour” by the Crew-10 astronauts, is now on its way to the ISS and is expected to dock with the space station in about 28 hours.
The six-month mission for the Crew-10 astronauts will be filled with important tasks and experiments on the ISS. They will be conducting research in various fields such as biology, medicine, and technology, which will contribute to our understanding of space and help improve life on Earth. They will also be performing spacewalks to continue the maintenance and upgrades of the ISS.
The arrival of Crew-10 also brings some relief to the ISS crew, as two members of Crew-9 have been stranded on the ISS since June 2020 due to delays in Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft. The Starliner was scheduled to transport astronauts to the ISS as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, but it encountered several setbacks during its uncrewed test flight in December 2019. The Crew-10 mission will now provide much-needed support and assistance to the current ISS crew, and the Starliner delays will not have a significant impact on the ISS operations.
In conclusion, the successful launch of the Crew-10 mission is a testament to the partnership and collaboration between NASA and SpaceX. It also marks a significant achievement for the commercial space industry, as private companies like SpaceX are now playing a crucial role in human spaceflight. The Crew-10 mission not only brings back
