The astronauts of SpaceX’s Crew-11 mission are making their remaining preparations for his or her July 31 journey to the International Space Station (ISS).
The four-person crew will elevate off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, driving within the Crew Dragon Endeavour spacecraft atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on July 31, if all goes in response to plan. This would be the sixth time that Endeavour has launched to house, making it SpaceX’s most-flown Crew Dragon ever.
But two of the spaceflyers on board, NASA astronaut Zena Cardman and Oleg Platonov of Russia’s house company Roscosmos, aren’t as seasoned; Crew-11 will probably be their first flight. The different two, NASA’s Mike Fincke and Kimiya Yui from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), will probably be making their fourth and second flight to house, respectively.
Read on to study extra about this worldwide crew launching on the eleventh operational astronaut mission that SpaceX has launched to the ISS for NASA.
Zena Cardman (NASA)
Zena Cardman
NASA astronaut Zena Cardman was chosen to be a part of the company’s 2017 astronaut class. She holds levels in biology and marine sciences from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
Cardman was beforehand assigned to SpaceX’s Crew-9 mission, however needed to be reassigned after her seat was given up in August 2024 to make room for 2 Boeing Starliner astronauts who needed to catch a trip dwelling with SpaceX after their spacecraft was deemed unsafe for his or her return voyage.
Cardman will function commander on this flight, her first journey to house, which is able to make up Expeditions 73/74 aboard the International Space Station. She has beforehand educated as a Crew Dragon commander and has supported ISS operations and helped plan for lunar floor exploration, according to NASA.
Mike Fincke (NASA)
Mike Fincke
Edward Michael “Mike” Fincke is a retired U.S. Air Force colonel who was chosen to be a NASA astronaut in 1996.
Fincke first flew to house in 2004 as a member of ISS’ Expedition 9, once more in 2009 on Expedition 18, and on STS-134 in 2011, NASA’s penultimate house shuttle mission. That shuttle, just like the Crew Dragon spacecraft that can fly on Crew-11, was named Endeavour.
The veteran astronaut has spent over a 12 months in orbit in whole and performed 9 spacewalks for a complete of 48 hours and 37 minutes, according to NASA. Fincke beforehand educated to function pilot on Starliner-1, the primary operational flight of Boeing’s troubled Starliner spacecraft.
As essentially the most skilled member of Crew-11, Fincke says he is wanting ahead to seeing the reactions of his first-timer crewmembers. “I remember how moving it was, and how breathtaking it was for me, and I want to share their joy in that,” Fincke instructed Space.com.
Oleg Platonov (Roscosmos)
Oleg Platonov
Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov will probably be making his first spaceflight on Crew-11. Platonov was chosen as a cosmonaut in 2018 after finding out engineering and plane operations and serving within the Russian Air Force.
At Roscosmos, Platonov was beforehand assigned to check duties as an plane pilot and scuba diver, performed zero-gravity coaching and wilderness survival workouts, according to NASA.
Platonov was initially scheduled to fly to the ISS as a part of the Soyuz MS-25 mission, however was reassigned to Crew-11 as half of the present seat swap settlement between NASA and Roscosmos.
Kimiya Yui (JAXA)
Kimiya Yui
Mission specialist Kimiya Yui will probably be making his second flight to the ISS aboard Crew-11, having beforehand spent 142 days on the ISS throughout Expedition 44/45 in 2015. During that point, Yui helped assemble laboratory services within the Japanese Kibo module on the ISS, the place he then performed 21 completely different science experiments, according to NASA.
Yui was additionally the primary Japanese astronaut to make use of the Canadarm2 robotic arm to seize the H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV), or “Kounotori,” Japan’s robotic cargo vessel designed to resupply the ISS.
Prior to becoming a member of JAXA as an astronaut in 2016, Yui served within the Japan Air Self-Defense Force, reaching the rank of lieutenant colonel.
If all goes in response to plan, Crew-11 will dock on the ISS on Saturday, Aug. 2. Docking is focused for 3 a.m. ET (0800 GMT), and hatch opening and a welcome ceremony ought to comply with some two hours later.
Crew-11 will spend six months aboard the ISS conducting scientific experiments and routine house station operations. The 4 Crew-11 astronauts will probably be relieving the Crew-10 quartet, who will return to Earth a number of days later.