NASA to Host Upcoming Prelaunch, Launch Activities for SpaceX Crew-3 Mission with Astronauts to the ISS

3rd crew rotation mission with astronauts on the SpaceX Crew Dragon

BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA – NASA will provide coverage of the upcoming prelaunch and launch activities for the agency’s SpaceX Crew-3 mission with astronauts to the International Space Station.

This is the third crew rotation mission with astronauts on the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft and the fourth flight with astronauts, including the Demo-2 test flight, as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program.

The launch is targeted for 2:21 a.m. EDT Sunday, Oct. 31, on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The Crew Dragon Endurance is scheduled to dock at the space station at 12:10 a.m. Monday, Nov. 1.

Prelaunch activities, launch, and docking will air live on NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agency’s website.

The Crew-3 flight will carry NASA astronauts Raja Chari, mission commander; Tom Marshburn, pilot; and Kayla Barron, mission specialist; as well as ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Matthias Maurer, who will serve as a mission specialist, to the space station for a six-month science mission.

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-3 mission coverage is as follows (all times Eastern):

Monday, Oct. 25

7 p.m. (approximately) – Flight Readiness Review (FRR) Media Teleconference at Kennedy (no earlier than one hour after completion of the FRR) with the following participants:

■ Kathryn Lueders, associate administrator, Space Operations Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters
■ Steve Stich, manager, NASA Commercial Crew Program, Kennedy
■ Joel Montalbano, manager, International Space Station, NASA’s Johnson Space Center
■ Holly Ridings, chief flight director, Flight Operations Directorate, Johnson
■ William Gerstenmaier, vice president, Build and Flight Reliability, SpaceX
■ Frank de Winne, program manager, International Space Station, ESA
■ Junichi Sakai, manager, International Space Station, JAXA

Tuesday, Oct. 26

1:30 p.m. (approximately) – Crew Arrival Media Event at Kennedy with the following participants (limited, previously confirmed in-person media only):

■ Bob Cabana, NASA associate administrator
■ Janet Petro, director, NASA’s Kennedy Space Center
■ Frank de Winne, program manager, International Space Station, ESA
■ NASA astronaut Raja Chari
■ NASA astronaut Tom Marshburn
■ NASA astronaut Kayla Barron
■ ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer
■ No teleconference option is available for this event.

Wednesday, Oct. 27

7:45 a.m. – Virtual Crew Media Engagement at Kennedy with Crew-3 astronauts:

■ NASA astronaut Raja Chari
■ NASA astronaut Tom Marshburn
■ NASA astronaut Kayla Barron
■ ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer
■ Media may ask questions via phone only. For the dial-in number and passcode, please contact the Kennedy newsroom no later than 7 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 27, at: ksc-newsroom@mail.nasa.gov.

Thursday, Oct. 28

1 p.m. – Science Media Teleconference to discuss investigations the Crew-3 crew will support during their mission with the following participants:

■ David Brady, associate program scientist for the International Space Station Program at Johnson, will provide an introduction to the research and technology aboard the Crew Dragon spacecraft.

■ Dr. Yun-Xing Wang, senior investigator in the Structural Biophysics Laboratory at the National Cancer Institute, and Dr. Jason R. Stagno, a staff scientist in the Structural Biophysics Laboratory at the National Cancer Institute.

Wang and Stagno will discuss the Uniform Protein Crystal Growth experiment that aims to grow near-perfect microcrystals in microgravity, which will be immediately analyzed by a powerful atomic imager on their return to Earth alongside the Crew-2 astronauts.

■ Dr. Grace Douglas, lead scientist for NASA’s Advanced Food Technology research effort, will discuss the Food Physiology experiment. This investigation studies the impacts of an enhanced spaceflight diet on astronaut health.

■ Dr. Hector Guiterrez, professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at the Florida Institute of Technology, will discuss the Smartphone Video Guidance Sensor (SVGS) that will test a set of LED beacons with which the Astrobee free-flying robots will interact during formation flight maneuvers.

A representative from the Standard Measures investigation, which collects a set of core measurements related to many human spaceflight risks from astronauts before, during, and after long-duration missions.

Friday, Oct. 29

12 p.m. – NASA Administrator Media Briefing on NASA TV with the following participants:

■ Bill Nelson, NASA administrator
■ Pam Melroy, NASA deputy administrator
■ Bob Cabana, NASA associate administrator
■ Kathryn Lueders, associate administrator, Space Operations Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters
■ Janet Petro, director, NASA’s Kennedy Space Center
■ Woody Hoburg, NASA astronaut

10 p.m. – Prelaunch News Conference at Kennedy (no earlier than one hour after completion of the Launch Readiness Review) with the following participants:

■ Steve Stich, manager, Commercial Crew Program, Kennedy
■ Joel Montalbano, manager, International Space Station, Johnson
■ Jennifer Buchli, deputy chief scientist, International Space Station Program, Johnson
■ Holly Ridings, chief flight director, Flight Operations Directorate, Johnson
■ Sarah Walker, director, Dragon Mission Management, SpaceX
■ Josef Aschbacher, director general, ESA
■ William Ulrich, launch weather officer, 45th Weather Squadron, United States Space Force

Saturday, Oct. 30

10 p.m. – NASA Television launch coverage begins. NASA Television will have continuous coverage, including launch, docking, hatch open, and welcome ceremony.

Sunday, Oct. 31

2:21 a.m. – Launch

NASA TV coverage continues through docking, arrival, and the welcome ceremony. In lieu of a postlaunch news conference, NASA leadership will provide comments during the broadcast.

Monday, Nov. 1

■ 12:10 a.m. – Docking

■ 1:50 a.m. – Hatch Opening

■ 2:20 a.m. – Welcoming Ceremony

NASA TV live coverage will begin at 10 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 30. For NASA TV downlink information, schedules, and links to streaming video, visit: https://www.nasa.gov/live

CLICK HERE FOR BREVARD COUNTY NEWS

Similar Stories