SpaceX set to launch NASAs Crew-10 mission to the ISS

Date:
Wed, 12 Mar 2025 17:27:13 +0000

Description:
NASA and SpaceX are ready for the launch of the next ISS crew-rotation mission, Crew-10. The post SpaceX set to launch NASAs Crew-10 mission to the ISS appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com .

FULL STORY ======================================================================

NASA and SpaceX are ready for the launch of the next ISS crew-rotation mission, Crew-10. The 10th operational crewed mission under NASAs Commercial Crew Program, SpaceXs Falcon 9 and Crew Dragon Endurance will carry a crew of four NASA, JAXA, and Roscosmos astronauts to the orbiting laboratory for a six-month stay as part of Expedition 72/73.

Falcon 9 is expected to lift off from LC-39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Wednesday, March 12, at 7:48 PM EDT (01:48 UTC). Following launch and stage separation, the first stage booster will return to land at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station while the second stage sends Endurance and its crew on a trajectory to rendezvous with the ISS on March 10.





Crew-10s astronauts and mission

Launching onboard Endurance for a six-month stay aboard the ISS is a collection of American, Japanese, and Russian astronauts. NASA astronaut Anne McClain will serve as Crew-10s commander. From Spokane, Washington, McClain served as a Colonel in the U.S. Army from 2002 to 2013, when she was selected as a NASA astronaut candidate for the agencys 21st astronaut group. Crew-10 will be McClains second flight to space and the International Space Station (ISS). She previously flew to the Station on the Soyuz MS-11 mission in December 2018 as part of Expedition 58/59. In total, McClain has logged 203 days, 15 hours, and 16 minutes in space.

Crew-10 s pilot is NASA astronaut Nichole Ayers. The Colorado Springs and Divide, Colorado, native will make her first flight to space on Crew-10.
Ayers graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 2011 with a degree in mathematics and served as a Major in the U.S. Air Force before being selected to join NASAs Astronaut Group 23 in 2021. After two years of astronaut training, Ayers was assigned to Crew-10 in August 2024, becoming the first astronaut from Group 23 to earn an assignment. Nichole Ayers (left) and Anne McClain (right) during Dragon training. (Credit: SpaceX)

Joining McClain and Ayers as a mission specialist is Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Takuya Onishi. Born in Nerima, Japan, Onishi earned an aeronautical and space engineering degree from the
University of Tokyo and was a co-pilot of Boeing 767 airplanes from 2003 to 2009. Onishi will fly to space for the second time on Crew-10, having previously flown to the ISS aboard Soyuz MS-01 in 2016 as part of Expedition 48/49. JAXA and NASA selected Onishi for NASAs 20th astronaut group in 2009.

Serving as a mission specialist alongside Onishi is Roscosmos cosmonaut
Kirill Peskov. Born in Kyzyl, Russia, Peskov graduated from the Ulyanovsk Higher Civil Aviation School as an engineer and was first officer for Ikar Airlines from 2013 to 2018. In 2017, Peskov applied to the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center s cosmonaut recruitment program and was selected
as a cosmonaut candidate for Roscosmos 17th Cosmonaut Group in August 2018. Crew-10 will mark Peskov s first flight to space, having previously served
as a backup cosmonaut for Crew-9 pilot Aleksandr Gorbunov.

After launch and docking with the ISS, the crew will be welcomed by the current seven-member crew of Expedition 72, which is comprised of astronauts from the Crew-9, Boeing Crew Flight Test, and Soyuz MS-26 missions. Crew-9 will depart from the ISS on March 16 with NASA astronauts Nick Hague, Butch Wilmore, Sunita Williams, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov. Furthermore, Soyuz MS-26 will depart in April 2025 with Roscosmos cosmonauts Aleksy Ovichinin, Ivan Vagner, and NASA astronaut Donald Pettit. The four Crew-10 astronauts suited up and seated within Endurance during a dress rehearsal. (Credit: SpaceX)

Once accustomed to their new home, the Crew-10 astronauts will begin conducting new research and experiments on the ISS. In total, the crew is expected to perform over 200 experiments and demonstrations during their six-month stay. Among these experiments and demonstrations are a material flammability experiment, research into microgravitys effects on the human body, in-space communication and navigation tests, and more.

During their stay, the crew will also welcome several new astronauts and cosmonauts to the ISS. In early April, the Soyuz MS-27 mission will launch
two Russian cosmonauts and NASA astronaut Jonny Kim to the Station. Crew Dragon C213 will launch four private astronauts to the Station in May on the private Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4) mission. Moreover, several cargo resupply missions will launch to the ISS during Crew-10 s stay.

The spacecraft of Crew-10

SpaceX supplies the rocket and capsule for the Crew-10 mission as part of NASAs Commercial Crew Program (CCP). This mission will serve as the 12th
human spaceflight mission under the CCP, the 10th operational crew mission, and the 16th crewed mission for SpaceX and Crew Dragon.

SpaceXs partially reusable Falcon 9 rocket will launch the crew to the ISS. Currently flying in its Block 5 configuration, Falcon 9 flew for the first time in June 2010 and has since launched 459 missions to low-Earth orbit, the Moon, and beyond. Falcon 9 and Endurance atop LC-39A. (Credit: SpaceX)

A two-stage medium-lift launch vehicle, Falcon 9 stands 69.8 m tall and 3.7 m wide. The reusable first-stage booster features nine Merlin engines that produce 7,600 kilonewtons (kN) of thrust at liftoff. The first stage booster also features four landing legs and four grid fins for recovery. The Falcon 9 second stage features a single, vacuum-optimized Merlin engine that produces 934 kN of thrust. Both stages utilize liquid oxygen (LOX) and highly refined kerosene (RP-1) as propellants.

Falcon booster B1090 will serve as the first stage booster for this mission. B1090 will fly for the second time on Crew-10 and is the second-youngest active booster in SpaceXs fleet. The booster previously flew the O3b mPOWER 7&8 mission in December 2024, and, assuming an on-time launch of Crew-10,
will give the booster a turnaround time of 85 days.

Crew Dragon C210 Endurance will serve as the capsule for Crew-10. Endurance will fly to the ISS for the fourth time during Crew-10, previously flying the Crew-3, Crew-5, and Crew-7 missions for NASA. The capsule was named by the astronauts of Crew-3, as the first crews to fly in each Crew Dragon capsule are given the honor of naming it. Endurance landed in the Gulf of Mexico following the Crew-7 mission on March 12, 2024, giving it a turnaround time
of 365 days with an on-time launch of Crew-10. Endurance arrives at LC-39A
for integration and launch. (Credit: SpaceX)

Interestingly, Endurance was not initially assigned to Crew-10. SpaceXs fifth and likely final Crew Dragon, the currently unnamed Crew Dragon C213, was scheduled to serve as the capsule for the mission. However, due to issues
with testing and final integration on C213, SpaceX and NASA opted to swap the capsule with Endurance to avoid delays to Crew-10, which had already been delayed to March from its original launch date in February. C213 is now expected to take its maiden flight on the Ax-4 mission in May, with SpaceX teams aiming to have the capsule ready to fly by late April.

Crew-10 launch and docking timeline

Crew-10 will launch from the historic Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Of SpaceXs 16 human spaceflight missions, 15 have launched from LC-39A, as well as many Space Shuttle and Apollo missions. Liftoff of Crew-10 is scheduled for Wednesday, March 12, at 7:48 PM EDT
(01:48 UTC).

SpaceX rolled Falcon 9 and Endurance to LC-39A for the first time on March 9, with the rocket going vertical on the pad shortly after. Later that day,
NASA, SpaceX, and the crew completed a full dress rehearsal of launch day activities on March 9, which ultimately culminated in the successful static fire of Falcon 9 that evening. pic.twitter.com/lHLPHzlDnK

SpaceX (@SpaceX) March 10, 2025



On launch day, the launch countdown will begin with crew suit-up at the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building (O&C), which is located several miles south of LC-39A. After crew walkout, a convoy of Teslas will depart the O&C and drive to LC-39A. Once at the pad, the crew and the supporting
closeout crew will scale the Fixed Service Structure tower and walk across
the crew access arm to begin crew ingress procedures.

Crew ingress is expected to be completed by T-2:35:00 hours, with hatch closure coming 30 minutes later at T-1:55:00 hours. Closeout teams will then perform final checks on Endurance before returning to the ground and leaving LC-39A.

At T-45:00 minutes, SpaceXs Launch Director will verify that Falcon 9 is go for propellant loading. If the go is given, teams will retract the crew
access arm at T-42:00 minutes and arm Endurance s launch escape system at T-39:00 minutes. At this point in the countdown, if an emergency that prevented crew egress were to occur, Endurance s launch escape system would
be activated, safely flying the crew away from the pad. Close-up of Crew Dragon C210 Endurance atop Falcon 9. (Credit: SpaceX)

Falcon 9 utilizes super-chilled cryogenic propellants, and to ensure the propellants dont boil off during pre-launch activities like crew ingress, SpaceX begins fueling Falcon 9 closer to launch than previous crewed launch vehicles. First stage LOX loading and RP-1 loading on both stages begins at T-35:00 minutes. At T-16:00 minutes, second stage LOX loading begins.

T-07:00 minutes will see first-stage engine chill begin, wherein small
amounts of the cryogenic propellants flow through the first-stage engines. Performing engine chill before launch ensures the nine first-stage engines arent subjected to intense thermal shock during ignition. At T-05:00 minutes, Endurance will transition to internal power.

Propellant loading on Falcon 9 will complete at T-02:00 minutes, and Falcon 9 will begin to transfer to internal power. At T-01:00 minute, Falcon 9s flight computer will begin its final prelaunch checks and pressurize its propellant tanks to flight pressures. Finally, at T-00:45 seconds, assuming no
propellant loading or range issues, the SpaceX Launch Director will give the final go for launch.

Falcon 9 will begin to ignite its nine first-stage engines at T-00:03
seconds, and, at T0, Falcon 9, Endurance , and Crew-10 will liftoff from LC-39A. Falcon 9 launches Crew Dragon from LC-39A on the Ax-3 mission. (Credit: Sawyer Rosenstein for NSF)

At T+00:58 seconds into flight, Falcon 9 and Crew-10 will experience maximum aerodynamic pressure (Max Q), or the moment at which aerodynamic and structural loads are greatest on the vehicle. After a nominal ascent through Max Q, booster B1090 and the Falcon 9 second stage will separate at T+02:29 minutes. B1090 will then perform its boostback, entry, and landing burns, ultimately culminating in a landing at Landing Zone 1 (LZ-1) a few miles
south of LC-39A at T+07:39 minutes.

While the booster returns to Earth, the second stage and Endurance will continue their push to orbit. The vacuum-optimized Merlin will continue
firing for another eight minutes, finally shutting down at T+08:58 minutes,
at which point Endurance and its crew will officially be in orbit.

Endurance will separate from the second stage one minute later and begin its coast phase to the ISS. At T+10:46 minutes, Endurance s nosecone will begin
to open, exposing its docking port and hatch to the vacuum of space. Crew Dragon C206 Endeavour approaches the ISS for docking. (Credit: NASA)

Crew-10 will spend the following eight hours coasting to and rendezvousing with the ISS. At T+08:34:00 hours, Endurance will begin its docking sequence with the approach initiation burn, performed when Endurance is approximately 7.5 km from the Station. The capsule and its crew will then begin to approach the ISS slowly.

The final go/no-go for docking will be given at T+10:04:04 hours, with
contact and capture expected seven minutes later at T+10:11:04 hours. After final docking procedures and checkouts, docking will officially complete at T+10:24:04 hours, and the Expedition 73 and Crew-10 crews will begin working to open the hatch and welcome the four members of Crew-10 to the ISS.

(Lead image: Falcon 9 and Endurance on LC-39A ahead of Crew-10s launch. Credit: Max Evans for NSF)



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Link to news story:
https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2025/03/crew-10-launch/


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