New Delhi: NASA and SpaceX have decided the launch and return schedules for the upcoming crew rotation flights to and from the International Space Station (ISS), as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.

Four astronauts, who had been aboard the ISS for the last over six months, will return to Earth and the next batch of four, led by Indian-American astronaut Raja Chari, will be launched into space this week.   

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-2 mission astronauts are scheduled to return on Monday, November 8, at 7:14 am EST (4:44 pm IST). The Crew-2 mission was the second crew rotation flight of a US commercial spacecraft to the ISS. 

The Crew-3 mission is targeting a launch to the International Space Station on Thursday, November 10, at 9:03 pm EST (Friday, November 11, 6:33 am IST). 

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NASA’s SpaceX Crew-2 Mission Splashdown

NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Akihiko Hoshide, and European Space Agency astronaut Thomas Pesquet will return to Earth after spending 199 days in space, as part of Expeditions 65 and 66. 

The astronauts will return from the International Space Station in a Crew Dragon spacecraft, called Endeavour, and splash down off the coast of Florida. 

The spacecraft will undock autonomously from the orbital laboratory on Sunday, November 7, at 1:05 pm EST (Sunday, November 6 at 10:35 pm IST). Endeavour will also bring back to Earth 530 pounds of hardware, besides scientific investigations.

Seven possible landing zones in the Atlantic Ocean or Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Florida have been targeted for the splashdown. 

If weather conditions are not favourable on the planned dates for undocking and splashdown, the activities will take place a day after the scheduled date. 

Keeping in mind the possibility of such a situation, NASA and SpaceX have a backup undocking and splashdown opportunity available on Monday, November 8. 

Endeavour’s undocking depends on a variety of factors, including vehicle readiness, recovery team readiness, weather, and the state of the Atlantic Ocean. 

The change of command ceremony will take place on Saturday, November 6. 

The Crew-2 astronauts had launched to the ISS on April 23, 2021 and docked into the orbital laboratory on April 24, 2021, joining the other crew members of Expedition 65.

On April 27, JAXA astronaut Akihiko Hoshide assumed command of the ISS. The command was passed on to ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet on October 4.

The Crew-2 astronauts were transferred from Expedition 65 to Expedition 66 on October 17, 2021, after the departure of Soyuz MS-18 on the same date. 

Over the six months, the Crew-2 astronauts conducted a wide variety of science experiments, with NASA astronaut Megan McArthur frequently updating the people on Earth about the activities performed by her, and her fellow astronauts. 

With the departure of the Crew-2 astronauts from the ISS, the command will be passed on to Anton Shkaplerov, a cosmonaut from the Russian space agency, Roscosmos.

NASA SpaceX Crew-3 Mission Launch

Crew-3 will be the third crew rotation mission of SpaceX’s human space transportation system, and the aerospace company’s fourth flight with astronauts, including the Crew Dragon Demo-2 Mission, to the ISS through the NASA Commercial Crew Program. 

NASA astronauts Raja Chari (mission commander), Thomas Marshburn (pilot) and Kayla Barron (mission specialist), and ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer, also a mission specialist, will launch on the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft called Endurance, atop a Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39 A, Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral, Florida.

The Crew-3 astronauts will be staying aboard the ISS for a six-month long science mission, until late April 2022. 

Crew-3 mission was originally scheduled for launch on October 31, but has since been delayed a number of times due to reasons including bad weather and a “minor” medical issue faced by one of the astronauts. 

The mission was delayed from November 3 to November 6 due to the medical issue, but NASA and SpaceX did not reveal which of the four astronauts experienced it. 

The US Space Agency, and SpaceX have now delayed the launch to Wednesday, November 10, at 9:03 pm EST (Thursday, November 11 at 6:33 am IST) because of bad weather predictions. 

The Crew Dragon Endurance is scheduled to dock to the ISS on Thursday, November 11, at around 7:10 pm EST (Friday, November 12, around 4:40 am IST). 

The Crew-3 mission will fly a new Crew Dragon spacecraft, and will be the first mission to fly a previously used nose cone, NASA has said. 

This will be ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer’s first mission to the ISS, and his arrival at the orbital laboratory will officially make him the 600th person in space. 

Who Will Welcome Crew-3 Astronauts On The ISS

After the departure of the Crew-2 astronauts, NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei, and Russian cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Anton Shkaplerov will remain on the International Space Station to welcome the Crew-3 astronauts. 

Shkaplerov will command the expedition from November 8. 

At the end of Expedition 66 in early 2022, Shkaplerov, Dubrov, Vande Hei, Chari, Marshburn, Barron, and Maurer will be transferred to Expedition 67.

They will be joined by Roscosmos cosmonauts Oleg Artemyev, Denis Matveev, and Sergey Korsakov in March 2022.