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[5] 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 onboard the mission.[6][7] [8]
Crew Dragon Freedom launches to the ISS with the crew members of Crew-4 onboard. | |
| Names | USCV-4 |
|---|---|
| Mission type | ISS crew transport |
| Operator | SpaceX |
| COSPAR ID | 2022-042A |
| SATCAT no. | 52318 |
| Mission duration | 170 days, 13 hours and 3 minutes [1][2] |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Spacecraft | Crew Dragon Freedom |
| Spacecraft type | Crew Dragon |
| Manufacturer | SpaceX |
| Launch mass | 12,519 kg (27,600 lb) |
| Landing mass | 9,616 kg (21,200 lb) |
| Crew | |
| Crew size | 4 |
| Members |
|
| Expedition | Expedition 67 / 68 |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 27 April 2022, 07:52:55 UTC[3] |
| Rocket | Falcon 9 Block 5 (B1067.4) |
| Launch site | Kennedy Space Center, LC-39A |
| Contractor | SpaceX |
| End of mission | |
| Recovered by | Megan (ship) |
| Landing date | 14 October 2022, 20:55 UTC |
| Landing site | Atlantic Ocean |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric orbit |
| Regime | Low Earth orbit |
| Inclination | 51.64° |
| Docking with ISS | |
| Docking port | Harmony zenith |
| Docking date | 27 April 2022, 23:37 UTC |
| Undocking date | 14 October 2022, 16:05 UTC[4] |
| Time docked | 169 days and 16 hours |
SpaceX Crew-4 mission patch Hines, Cristoforetti, Watkins, and Lindgren (L-R) Commercial Crew Program SpaceX Crew-5 → Crew Dragon flights SpaceX Crew-5 → | |
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".[9] 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).[10]
NASA astronauts Kjell Lindgren and Robert Hines were announced on 12 February 2021 to the crew.[6][7] Samantha Cristoforetti was named the commander of Expedition 68 on 28 May 2021.[11] Jessica Watkins was named mission specialist on 16 November 2021.[12] Cristoforetti was later removed as commander of Expedition 68 due to the shortening of the Crew-4 mission.[13]
| Position | Astronaut | |
|---|---|---|
| Spacecraft commander | Expedition 67 / 68 Second spaceflight | |
| Pilot | Expedition 67 / 68 First spaceflight | |
| Mission Specialist 1 | Expedition 67 / 68 Second spaceflight | |
| Mission Specialist 2 | Expedition 67 / 68 First spaceflight | |
| Position | Astronaut | |
|---|---|---|
| Spacecraft commander | ||
| Pilot | ||
| Mission Specialist 1 | Not assigned | |
| Mission Specialist 2 | Not assigned | |
The mission duration was 170 days.[2] The European part of the mission is called Minerva,[15] named after the Roman goddess of wisdom,[16] and it is European astronaut Cristoforetti's second mission to the ISS.
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.
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)
Inspired by the Roman goddess of wisdom, the handicrafts and the arts, the name Minerva is a homage to the competence and sophisticated craftmanship of the men and women all over the world who make human spaceflight possible.
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See also: {{ISS expeditions}}, {{Uncrewed ISS flights}} | ||
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Launches are separated by dots ( • ), payloads by commas ( , ), multiple names for the same satellite by slashes ( / ). Cubesats are smaller. Crewed flights are underlined. Launch failures are marked with the † sign. Payloads deployed from other spacecraft are (enclosed in brackets). | |