SpaceX Will Launch First Russian Astronaut: How to Watch
Launches by NASA astronauts on SpaceX rockets have become commonplace, but a Russian astronaut has yet to travel aboard the company’s Crew Dragon capsule.
That changes on Wednesday, when the Crew 5 mission brings four astronauts to the International Space Station for a six-month stay. Here’s what you need to know about getting started.
When does it start and how can I see it?
Launch will take place Wednesday at 12 p.m. Eastern Time from Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
NASA Television will begin its coverage at 8:30 a.m. and will continue to broadcast the mission live until docking with the space station at 4:57 p.m. Thursday and the welcome ceremony that follows.
Why did NASA invite a Russian astronaut to fly in a SpaceX capsule?
Only two of the four astronauts on this flight work for NASA: Nicole Mann, the mission commander, and John Cassada, the pilot. The other two are Koichi Wakata from Japan and Anna Kikina from Russia.
Earlier in the International Space Station program, Russian astronauts regularly flew on the space shuttles and NASA astronauts flew on Russian Soyuz rockets. After the space shuttles were retired in 2011, the Soyuz was the only mode of transport available to get astronauts to and from the space station.
When SpaceX’s Crew Dragon went live in 2021, NASA no longer needed to fly its astronauts on Soyuz, but still wanted to be able to use it. And the space agency wanted Russian astronauts to ride on the Crew Dragon (as well as a second American capsule, Boeing’s Starliner, which could go into service next year).
That should help keep the space station running smoothly, which is divided into two segments: one run by Russia and one run by NASA and its partners.
“Flying integrated crews ensures that there are appropriately trained crew members aboard the station for essential maintenance and spacewalks,” NASA said in a statement in July when Ms. Kikina was announced as a member of the Crew-5 mission.
The concern is that an emergency — say, a serious health issue in a crew member — could result in an early return to Earth. All crew members of the spacecraft would also have to return to Earth. (Otherwise there wouldn’t be enough seating on the remaining spacecraft. The astronauts also can’t easily switch to a seat on another spacecraft because of the intense training.) If all the Russians had arrived on Russia’s Soyuz, that would go to the Russian segment of the space station unguarded.
As part of the crew swap, a NASA astronaut, Frank Rubio, launched to the space station on a Soyuz rocket with two Russian astronauts last month.
“This type of exchange will increase the robustness of our program,” Sergei Krikalev, executive director for the manned space programs at Roscosmos, the Russian space agency, said during a news conference on Monday. “And we will continue this practice to make our program more reliable.”
Who is Anna Kikina?
Ms Kikina, 38, is currently the only woman in the Russian Astronaut Corps. She had been training for a Soyuz flight, but was transferred to the SpaceX mission once the agreement between NASA and the Russian space agency was finalized. This is her first flight into space.
The last woman in the Russian astronaut corps to fly to the space station was Elena Serova in 2014. Recently, a Russian actress, Yulia Peresild, flew to the space station in 2021 to shoot scenes for a movie.
Who are the other crew members?
Ms. Mann and Mr. Cassada are also flying into orbit for the first time. Mr. Wakata, on the other hand, is a space veteran with four previous missions, including two stays on the International Space Station.
As a member of the Wailacki of the Round Valley Indian Tribes in Northern California, Ms. Mann will be NASA’s first Indigenous woman to fly into orbit.