Early in the morning of August 26th, 2023, SpaceX launched Crew-7 to the International Space Station for NASA as part of its Commercial Crew Program. This is SpaceX's eleventh time flying crew, its eighth for NASA, and the seventh for the Commercial Crew Program. As of writing Crew Dragon Endurance has separated from the second stage of the Falcon 9 and is now on its way to the International Space Station.
Crew-7 is the first commercial crew launch to send three international partners to the International Space Station. This is also the first time a non-NASA astronaut will be the pilot for a Dragon spacecraft on a Commercial Crew Program mission. Crew-7 is flying to the International Space Station on Crew Dragon Endurance which has already flown for Crew-3 and Crew-5. The booster, B1081, for this mission is on its first flight and landed back at Landing Zone-1 after performing a boost backburn to return to Cape Canaveral, Florida. This is the second time a booster will perform a return to the landing site on a mission flying crew, but a first for a Commercial Crew Program mission.
Crew-7 is currently planning to spend 180 days at the International Space Station to perform a variety of science experiments in space. On NASA's blog, they state the following about what the crew will do at the International Space Station during their stay;
"Crew-7 will conduct new scientific research to prepare for human exploration beyond low Earth orbit and benefit humanity on Earth. Experiments will include the collection of microbial samples from the exterior of the space station, the first study of human response to different spaceflight durations, and an investigation of the physiological aspects of astronauts’ sleep. These are just a few of the more than 200 science experiments and technology demonstrations that will take place during their mission."
What is Crew Dragon?
Crew Dragon, or Dragon 2, is a partially reusable spacecraft developed by SpaceX. The primary use for Crew Dragon is to send crew to and from the International Space Station. SpaceX has also flown a free flight of the spacecraft for the Inspiration4 mission.
Crew Dragon consists of the capsule and trunk. The trunk is used to store unpressurized cargo as well as have solar panels mounted on one side, to generate power, and radiators on the other, to dissipate heat generated inside. The trunk is not reused and burns up in the atmosphere after each mission. The capsule is where the crew will be during launch, landing, and while on their way to the International Space Station. Unlike the original Dragon capsule, the Crew Dragon capsule has a launch abort system consisting of eight SuperDraco engines. The capsule also has a nosecone that will fold out of the way in space to protect the docking hardware and forward-facing thrusters during launch and landing.
Crew Dragon was developed as part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program in order to regain crew access to the International Space Station from the United States of America after the retirement of the Space Shuttle. SpaceX currently has four active Crew Dragon capsules; Endeavour, Resilience, Endurance, and Freedom. A fifth Crew Dragon capsule is under construction and is expected to be finished in 2024, this will be the last Crew Dragon capsule to be built. Each capsule is expected to be reused up to fifteen times.