Artists' impression of a Crew Dragon approaching the forward port of Harmony on the ISS. | |
Names | USCV-6 |
---|---|
Mission type | ISS crew transport |
Operator | SpaceX |
Mission duration | 180 days (planned) |
Spacecraft properties | |
Spacecraft | Crew Dragon Endeavour[1] |
Spacecraft type | Crew Dragon |
Manufacturer | SpaceX |
Launch mass | 12,519 kg (27,600 lb) |
Landing mass | 9,616 kg (21,200 lb) |
Crew | |
Crew size | 4 |
Members | Andrey Fedyaev |
Start of mission | |
Launch date | 26 February 2023, 07:07 UTC (planned)[2] |
Rocket | Falcon 9 Block 5 B1078.1 |
Launch site | Kennedy Space Center, LC-39A |
Contractor | SpaceX |
End of mission | |
Landing date | Fall 2023 (planned) |
Landing site | Atlantic Ocean |
Orbital parameters | |
Reference system | Geocentric orbit |
Regime | Low Earth orbit |
Inclination | 51.66° |
Docking with ISS | |
Docking port | Harmony zenith |
Undocking date | Q3 2023 (planned) |
Time docked | 180 days (planned) |
SpaceX Crew-6 mission patch |
SpaceX Crew-6 is planned to be the sixth crewed operational NASA Commercial Crew flight of a Crew Dragon spacecraft, and the tenth overall crewed orbital flight. The mission is scheduled to launch in 26 February 2023.[2] The Crew-6 mission will transport four crew members to the International Space Station (ISS). Two NASA astronauts, a United Arab Emirates astronaut, and a Russian cosmonaut have been assigned to the mission. The two NASA astronauts are Stephen Bowen and Warren Hoburg.[3] The cosmonaut, Andrey Fedyaev, was reassigned from Soyuz MS-23. Sultan Al Neyadi will head the Emirates' mission on the flight.
On 24 March 2022 the European Space Agency announced that Danish astronaut Andreas Mogensen will serve as backup pilot.[4] On 29 April 2022, the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) and Axiom Space announced that Crew-6 will also include an astronaut from the United Arab Emirates.[5]
MBRSC participation in this mission is a by product of a 2021 agreement between NASA and Axiom to fly a NASA astronaut, Mark T. Vande Hei, onboard Soyuz MS-18 (launch) and Soyuz MS-19 (return) in order to ensure a continuing American presence onboard the ISS. In return, Axiom received the rights to a NASA owned seat onboard SpaceX Crew-6. Axiom provided the flight opportunity to MBRSC professional crew member through an agreement with the United Arab Emirates Space Agency.[6] Later the astronaut was confirmed to be Sultan Al Neyadi.[7] Andrey Fedyaev 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.[8] 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.[9]
Position | Astronaut | |
---|---|---|
Spacecraft commander | ![]() Expedition 68 / 69 / 70 Fourth spaceflight | |
Pilot | ![]() Expedition 68 / 69 / 70 First spaceflight | |
Mission Specialist 1 | ![]() Expedition 68 / 69 / 70 First spaceflight | |
Mission Specialist 2 | ![]() Expedition 68 / 69 / 70 First spaceflight |
Position | Astronaut | |
---|---|---|
Spacecraft commander | ![]() | |
Pilot | ![]() | |
Mission Specialist 1 | ![]() | |
Mission Specialist 2 | ![]() |
The sixth SpaceX operational mission in the Commercial Crew Program is scheduled to launch on 26 February 2023.[2]