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Launches: Crew-5 arrives in Florida for ISS launch

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October 1, 2022

Two women and 2 men in blue jump suits, arms over each other's shoulders and thumbs up sign. — View larger. | Members of the Crew-5 mission arrived at Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida on Saturday, October 1, 2022. From left, they are NASA astronaut Nicole Mann, Roscosmos cosmonaut Anna Kikina, NASA astronaut Josh Cassada, and Koichi Wakata, of JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency). Crew-5 is scheduled for launch at 12 p.m. ET (16:00 UTC) on Wednesday, October 5, from KSC aboard the SpaceX Crew Dragon *Expedition*. They will dock with the International Space Station 22 hours later. Image via Greg Diesel Walck for EarthSky.

After a delay caused by Hurricane Ian – and after being stuck in preflight isolation in Houston, Texas, for several days – the international team of space travelers in the upcoming Crew-5 mission to the International Space Station finally arrived at Kennedy Space Center early Saturday afternoon (October 1, 2022). The astronauts are now scheduled to launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 tipped with the Crew Dragon Expedition on Wednesday, October 5.

NASA described their quick trip to KSC:

NASA astronauts Nicole Mann, commander; Josh Cassada, pilot; and mission specialists Koichi Wakata, of JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency), and Roscosmos cosmonaut Anna Kikina arrived at the Launch and Landing Facility at approximately 12:15 p.m. EDT Saturday, October 1, after departing Ellington Field near the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.

It’ll be the 5th flight to space for Koichi Wakata, and a first trip up for the other three.

Liftoff at noon Wednesday

The October 5 liftoff is set for 12 p.m. (16 UTC). NASA will stream the launch via its media website. NASA said the list of events include the following:

The launch is targeted for noon EDT, Wednesday, October 5, from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The Dragon spacecraft, named Endurance, is scheduled to dock to the space station at 4:57 p.m. EDT Thursday, October 6. Crew arrival, launch, the post-launch news conference, and mission coverage through docking will air live on NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agency’s website. NASA also will host an audio only prelaunch news teleconference.

The mission will carry the last of the Expedition 67 crew to the ISS. Cosmonaut Kikina will fly with Crew-5 as part of a seat exchange with Roscosmos that already saw NASA astronaut Frank Rubio head to the ISS aboard a Soyuz in September. The exchange is an effort by the ISS partner nations to smooth international relations as Russia makes war on neighboring Ukraine.

Launches: Crew-5 crew and purpose

While not officially declared an attempt at diplomacy, this launch represents an attempt to ease tensions between Russia and the four other ISS partners, which sprang up following to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The news agency Reuters reported this statement from the Russians:

The agreement is in the interests of Russia and the United States and will promote the development of cooperation within the framework of the ISS program.

The group will be busy once in orbit with the hundreds of experiments they’ll monitor at the ISS. According to NASA:

Experiments will include studies on printing human organs in space, understanding fuel systems operating on the moon and better understanding heart disease. These are just some of the more than 200 science experiments and technology demonstrations that will take place during their mission.

The newest residents of the ISS will join three others who recently arrived via a Soyuz launch from Russia last week. Crew-5 will stay at the station for six months if all goes as planned.

A mission of unity, diversity

Crew-5 also represents the first time a Native American – Nicole Mann – will command the ISS. She offered remarks on the significance of the mission after the crew’s arrival at KSC:

I am very proud to represent Native Americans and my heritage. I think it’s important to celebrate our diversity and also realize how important it is when we collaborate and unite, the incredible accomplishments that we can have.

Four astronauts in blue jumpsuits, two on either side of a sign with their names and enlarged patch. — The astronauts for Crew-5 pose for photos after arriving at the Kennedy Space Center on October 1, 2022. Image via Greg Diesel Walck for EarthSky.

Bottom line: The Crew-5 mission team arrived at Kennedy Space Center on October 1, 2022, in anticipation of liftoff to the International Space Station on October 5.

Dave Adalian

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About the Author:

Award-winning reporter and editor Dave Adalian's love affair with the cosmos began during a long-ago summer school trip to the storied and venerable Lick Observatory atop California's Mount Hamilton, east of San Jose in the foggy Diablos Mountain Range and far above Monterey Bay at the edge of the endless blue Pacific Ocean. That field trip goes on today, as Dave still pursues his nocturnal adventures, perched in the darkness at his telescope's eyepiece or chasing wandering stars through the fields of night with the unaided eye. A lifelong resident of California's Tulare County - an agricultural paradise where the Great San Joaquin Valley meets the Sierra Nevada in endless miles of grass-covered foothills - Dave grew up in a wilderness larger than Delaware and Rhode Island combined, one choked with the greatest diversity of flora and fauna in the US, one which passes its nights beneath pitch black skies rising over the some of highest mountain peaks and greatest roadless areas on the North American continent. Dave studied English, American literature and mass communications at the College of the Sequoias and the University of California, Santa Barbara. He has worked as a reporter and editor for a number of news publications on- and offline during a career spanning nearly 30 years so far. His fondest literary hope is to share his passion for astronomy and all things cosmic with anyone who wants to join in the adventure and explore the universe's past, present and future.

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