SpaceX Crew-4

SpaceX Crew-4
Freedom launches to the ISS with the crew members of Crew-4 onboard.
NamesUSCV-4
Mission typeISS crew transport
OperatorSpaceX
COSPAR ID2022-042A Edit this at Wikidata
SATCAT no.52318Edit this on Wikidata
Mission duration170 days, 13 hours, 2 minutes, 32 seconds[1][2]
Spacecraft properties
SpacecraftCrew Dragon Freedom
Spacecraft typeCrew Dragon
ManufacturerSpaceX
Launch mass12,519 kg (27,600 lb)
Landing mass9,616 kg (21,200 lb)
Crew
Crew size4
Members
ExpeditionExpedition 67 / 68
Start of mission
Launch date27 April 2022, 07:52:55 (27 April 2022, 07:52:55) UTC (3:52:55 am EDT)[3]
RocketFalcon 9 Block 5 (B1067.4)
Launch siteKennedy, LC‑39A
End of mission
Recovered byMV Megan
Landing date14 October 2022, 20:55:27 (14 October 2022, 20:55:27) UTC (4:55:27 pm EDT)
Landing siteAtlantic Ocean, near Jacksonville, Florida[4]
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric orbit
RegimeLow Earth orbit
Inclination51.64°
Docking with ISS
Docking portHarmony zenith
Docking date27 April 2022, 23:37 UTC
Undocking date14 October 2022, 16:05 UTC[5]
Time docked169 days, 16 hours, 28 minutes

Mission patch

From left: Hines, Cristoforetti, Watkins and Lindgren

SpaceX Crew-4 was the Crew Dragon's fourth NASA Commercial Crew operational flight, and its seventh overall crewed orbital flight. The mission launched on 27 April 2022 at 07:52 UTC[6] before docking with the International Space Station (ISS) at 23:37 UTC. It followed shortly after the private Axiom 1 mission to the ISS earlier in the month utilizing SpaceX hardware. Three American (NASA) astronauts and one European (ESA) astronaut were on board the mission.[7][8][9]

Crew-4 was the maiden flight of the Crew Dragon spacecraft named Freedom, named such by the crew because it "celebrates a fundamental human right, and the industry and innovation that emanate from the unencumbered human spirit".[10] The booster used on this mission was the B1067, which makes it the first Commercial Crew mission to use a booster on its fourth flight (it previously was used to launch SpaceX Crew-3 in 2021).[11]

  1. ^ Sheetz, Michael (27 April 2022). "SpaceX launches Crew-4 mission for NASA, has now sent 26 astronauts to space in under two years". CNBC. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
  2. ^ NASA (2022). "Crew-4 Mission Overview" (PDF). NASA. p. 1. Retrieved 27 April 2022. Crew-4 is scheduled for a long duration stay of up to six months aboard station conducting science and maintenance before returning to Earth in the fall of 2022.
  3. ^ Garcia, Mark (27 April 2022). "SpaceX Crew-4 Launches to Join Station Crew Tonight". NASA. Retrieved 28 April 2022.
  4. ^ Garcia, Mark (14 October 2022). "SpaceX Crew-4 Returns with Splashdown on Florida's Atlantic Coast". NASA. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
  5. ^ Wall, Mike (14 October 2022). "SpaceX's Crew-4 mission leaves space station and heads for home". space.com. Retrieved 14 October 2022. Crew-4's Dragon capsule, named Freedom, undocked from the International Space Station (ISS) on Friday (Oct. 14) at 12:05 p.m. EDT (1605 GMT)
  6. ^ Griffin, Amanda (22 April 2022). "NASA and SpaceX Adjust Agency's Crew-4 Launch Date". NASA. Retrieved 23 April 2022.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference Crew4 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference space20210223 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference Crew4Update20220318 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ Klotz, Irene (6 October 2021). "Forum - Crew-4". NASASpaceFlight.com. p. 2. Retrieved 30 October 2021.
  11. ^ @jeff_foust (19 January 2022). "Steve Stich says the Crew-4 flight will be the first commercial crew mission using a booster on its fourth flight" (Tweet). Retrieved 19 January 2022 – via Twitter.