SpaceX will soon launch its third crewed flight, it will be the second operational mission (Crew-2) to the International Space Station (ISS) under NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. The agency targets to launch Crew-2 by April 22; NASA and SpaceX officials are hosting a Flight Readiness Review today, to determine if everything is ready for liftoff. The results of their review will be released later this evening. Crew-2 NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Akihiko Hoshide, and European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Thomas Pesquet, entered a two-week quarantine period on Thursday, April 8, in preparation for their flight to the Space Station. During this period, the quartet will remain secluded to prevent putting their health in jeopardy. “Mask wearing, physical distancing, and other safeguards have been added because of the coronavirus,” the agency shared in a press release, “Anyone who will come on site or interact with the crew during the quarantine period, as well as any VIPs, also will be screened for temperature and symptoms. Kimbrough, McArthur, Hoshide, and Pesquet, as well as those in direct contact with the crew, will be tested twice for the virus as a precaution.”
On Friday, April 16, Crew-2 astronauts will travel from Houston, Texas, to Cape Canaveral, Florida, where they will spend their final week of quarantine. –“TOMORROW ✈️ The Crew-2 astronauts will fly from their home base at NASA Johnson to Kennedy Space Center. Tune in on April 16 at approximately 1pm ET to watch…,” the agency announced via Twitter. They will depart from Ellington Field Joint Reserve Base near Johnson and fly to Florida aboard a Gulfstream jet aircraft. They will arrive at Kennedy’s Launch and Landing Facility by Friday afternoon. NASA will broadcast their arrival via NASA TV, video linked below.
TOMORROW ✈️ The Crew-2 astronauts will fly from their home base at @NASA_Johnson to Kennedy Space Center.
— NASA's Kennedy Space Center (@NASAKennedy) April 15, 2021
Tune in on April 16 at approximately 1pm ET to watch as @astro_kimbrough, @Astro_Megan, @Aki_Hoshide and @Thom_astro arrive at America’s spaceport: https://t.co/xnafWSdtw4 pic.twitter.com/0pg7COYuKA
“The Crew Dragon spacecraft, named Endeavour, arrived at Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A on Monday, April 12, after making the trek from its processing facility at nearby Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida,” the agency shared, “The space capsule was placed atop the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and is scheduled to be transported to the pad later today, Thursday, April 15, and raised to the vertical launch position.” As of right now, Crew-2 is scheduled to liftoff atop SpaceX’s Falcon 9 on Thursday, April 22 at 6:11 a.m. EDT. Later today, after the Flight Readiness Review conference the agency will confirm if this launch date is still on track. You can listen to a live broadcast of the Flight Readiness Review results today after 6:00 p.m. EDT in the video linked below [time is subject to change].
Featured Image Source: SpaceX/NASA
About the Author
Evelyn Arevalo
Evelyn J. Arevalo joined Tesmanian in 2019 to cover news as a Space Journalist and SpaceX Starbase Texas Correspondent. Evelyn is specialized in rocketry and space exploration. The main topics she covers are SpaceX and NASA.
