SpaceX Crew-8 was the eighth crewed operational NASA Commercial Crew flight and the 13th overall crewed orbital flight of a Crew Dragon spacecraft. The mission launched on 4 March 2024.
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| Names | USCV-8 |
|---|---|
| Mission type | ISS crew transport |
| Operator | SpaceX |
| COSPAR ID | 2024-042A |
| SATCAT no. | 59097 |
| Mission duration | 235 days, 3 hours, 35 minutes |
| Distance travelled | 100 million mi (160 million km) |
| Orbits completed | 3,760 |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Spacecraft | Crew Dragon Endeavour |
| Spacecraft type | Crew Dragon |
| Manufacturer | SpaceX |
| Crew | |
| Crew size | 4 |
| Members | |
| Expedition | Expedition 70/71/72 |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 4 March 2024, 03:53:38 UTC (3 March, 10:53:38 pm EST)[1][2] |
| Rocket | Falcon 9 Block 5 (B1083.1), Flight 305 |
| Launch site | Kennedy, LC‑39A |
| End of mission | |
| Recovered by | MV Megan |
| Landing date | 25 October 2024, 07:29:02 UTC (3:29:02 am EDT) |
| Landing site | Gulf of Mexico, near Pensacola, Florida (29°48′40″N 87°33′25″W / 29.81111°N 87.55694°W) |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric orbit |
| Regime | Low Earth orbit |
| Inclination | 51.65° |
| Docking with ISS | |
| Docking port | Harmony forward[3] |
| Docking date | 5 March 2024, 08:00 UTC |
| Undocking date | 2 May 2024, 12:57 UTC |
| Time docked | 58 days, 4 hours, 57 minutes |
| Docking with ISS (relocation)[a] | |
| Docking port | Harmony zenith |
| Docking date | 2 May 2024, 13:46 UTC |
| Undocking date | 23 October 2024, 21:05 UTC |
| Time docked | 174 days, 7 hours and 19 minutes |
 SpaceX Crew-8 mission patch  From left: Grebenkin, Barratt, Dominick, and Epps | |
The Crew-8 mission transported four crew members to the International Space Station (ISS). Three NASA astronauts, Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt, and Jeanette Epps, and one Roscosmos cosmonaut, Alexander Grebenkin, were assigned to the mission.[4][5]
The Crew-8 mission was extended to accommodate problems encountered by the Boeing Crew Flight Test during its mission. The crew outfitted the Crew-8 capsule to accommodate two extra astronauts if an emergency occurred prior to Crew-9 docking on 29 September 2024.[6]
Crew
edit| Position[7] | Crew | |
|---|---|---|
| Commander |  Matthew Dominick, NASAExpedition 70 / 71 / 72 First spaceflight | |
| Pilot | Michael Barratt, NASA Expedition 70 / 71 / 72 Third spaceflight | |
| Mission Specialist 1 | Jeanette Epps, NASA Expedition 70 / 71 / 72 First spaceflight | |
| Mission Specialist 2 |  Alexander Grebenkin, RoscosmosExpedition 70 / 71 / 72 First spaceflight | |
Mission
editCrew-8 was the eighth SpaceX operational mission in the Commercial Crew Program and the 13th overall crewed orbital flight of a Crew Dragon spacecraft.[8] The mission launched at 3:53:38 UTC on 4 March 2024 (3 March, 10:53:38 pm EST, local time at the launch site).[9] SpaceX sent the 50th astronaut on this Crew Dragon launch.[10]
The first launch attempt, the day prior was scrubbed at T−03:25:38 due to elevated winds in offshore areas of the flight path.[11][12][13][14]
Launch attempt summary
editNote: times are local to the launch site (Eastern Daylight Time).
| Attempt | Planned | Result | Turnaround | Reason | Decision point | Weather go (%) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 Mar 2024, 11:16:00 pm | Scrubbed | — | Weather | 3 Mar 2024, 8:51 pm (T−03:25:38) | 40[15] | Elevated ascent winds |
| 2 | 3 Mar 2024, 10:53:38 pm | Success | 0 days 23 hours 38 minutes | 75[16] |
Relocation
editTo make way for a Boeing Starliner as a part of the Boeing Crew Flight Test that would dock to the forward port of Harmony on 6 June 2024, the crew relocated Crew Dragon Endeavour to the zenith port of Harmony on 2 May 2024, docking to the zenith port at 13:46 UTC.[17] Boeing Starliner Calypso successfully launched on 5 June 2024 and docked to the forward port of Harmony on 6 June.[18]
Support for Starliner CFT
edit
The Boeing Crew Flight Test mission docked with the ISS on June 6, 2024 after experiencing anomalies with its thrusters. Its crew of two remained on the ISS for an extended stay, while NASA and Boeing evaluated the problems. NASA decided that the uncertainties were too high to have the crew return to Earth on Starliner, so NASA sent the Crew-9 mission to the ISS with a crew of two, and the Starliner crew will then return to Earth with Crew-9 in February 2025, while Starliner undocked from the ISS and made a successful uncrewed return to Earth in September 2024. This was necessary because the ISS has only two IDSS ports shared between Dragon and Starliner. However, each ISS crewmember needs a contingency "lifeboat" in the event of an ISS emergency, and uncrewed undocking of the Starliner would leave its crew without a lifeboat. Therefore, NASA directed the crews to install two extra crew positions in the cargo area of the Crew-8 capsule to provide the lifeboat function after Starliner undocks and before Crew-9 docked.[6] Until Crew-9 arrived, they moved to SpaceX Crew-8, their temporary emergency evacuation spacecraft, and subsequently to Crew-9.[19]
Mission duration
editCrew-8 was originally planned to return to Earth in early August after a nominal 180-day mission, but the mission was extended several times. It was extended initially as NASA investigated the CFT situation, and extended again to provide the lifeboat function while Boeing worked to reconfigure Starliner to perform the uncrewed return. The overlap after Crew-9 arrived was slightly longer than usual to allow time to reconfigure Crew-8 and Crew-9 as the Starliner astronauts moved to Crew-9. However, the return of Crew-8 was delayed for several additional weeks due to poor weather conditions in the splashdown zones surrounding Florida caused by Hurricane Milton and several other storms.[20] The cumulative delays caused Crew-8 to become the longest Dragon mission.
Landing
editCrew-8 undocked from the ISS on 23 October 2024 at 21:05 UTC. After a completing 3,760 orbits and traveling nearly 100 million miles (160 million kilometers), Endeavour began its entry back into the Earth's atmosphere and splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico, near Pensacola, Florida on 25 October 2024 at 07:29:02 UTC (3:29:02 am EDT, local time at the landing site).[21] The capsule taken aboard the recovery ship MV Megan. After the crew exited the spacecraft, they were taken into the ship's onboard medical treatment facility for evaluations. After that check-up, NASA flew all of the crew members to the Ascension Sacred Heart Pensacola by helicopter for additional evaluation. One astronaut was hospitalized, but NASA declined to provide the individual's condition or identity. NASA said that the entry and splashdown was normal and the recovery of the crew and the spacecraft was without incident.[22] The astronaut was released from the hospital the following day and was said to be in "good health".[23]
Gallery
edit-
Crew-8 astronauts at the O&C Building -
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Crew Dragon Endeavour lifts off from LC-39A -
Crew Dragon Endeavour approaching the International Space Station -
A SpaceX technician secures a strap around Crew Dragon Endeavour shortly after it splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico -
SpaceX Crew-8 astronauts inside Crew Dragon Endeavour shortly after splashdown and being lifted aboard MV Megan
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Notes
edit- ^ From an orbital dynamics perspective, the forward port is easier to approach, and therefore, new vehicles use this approach for their first docking. The Boeing Starliner Calypso was scheduled to make its first docking to the ISS during the Boeing Crew Flight Test in June 2024; therefore, Crew-8 relocated to the zenith port to clear the forward port for Boe-CFT.
References
edit- ^ "Crew-8 Launch to Dock Summary Timeline" (PDF). Retrieved 31 July 2024.
- ^ Parra, Marissa; Cohen, Rebecca (4 March 2024). "SpaceX, NASA successfully launch manned Crew-8 mission to International Space Station". NBC News. Cape Canaveral, Florida. Retrieved 4 March 2024.
- ^ "Crew-8 Mission Overview" (PDF). National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). n.d. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
Crew-8 will dock to the forward-facing port of the Harmony module
- ^ "What You Need to Know about NASA's SpaceX Crew-8 Mission – NASA". 26 January 2024. Retrieved 1 February 2024.
- ^ "NASA Astronaut from Syracuse is ready for liftoff". WXXI News. 30 January 2024. Retrieved 1 February 2024.
- ^ a b Stich, Steve (24 August 2024). NASA's Boeing Crew Flight Test Status News Conference. NASA. Event occurs at 1:22:00. Retrieved 25 August 2024 – via YouTube.
- ^ O'Shea, Claire A. (5 August 2023). "Space Station Assignments Out for NASA's SpaceX Crew-8 Mission". NASA. Retrieved 5 August 2023.
- ^ "NASA, SpaceX Target NET Feb. 22 to Launch Crew-8 – NASA's SpaceX Crew-8 Mission". blogs.nasa.gov. 31 January 2024. Retrieved 1 February 2024.
- ^ "NASA's SpaceX Crew-8". NASA.
- ^ SpaceX [@SpaceX] (4 March 2024). "50 crewmembers launched and counting! Earlier tonight, Crew-8 signed the White Room at the end of the crew access arm ahead of boarding Dragon and liftoff" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ Malik, Tariq (28 February 2024). "SpaceX delays Crew-8 astronaut launch for NASA to March 2 due to bad weather". Space.com. Retrieved 5 March 2024.
- ^ NASA Commercial Crew [@Commercial_Crew] (29 February 2024). "Teams with @NASA and @SpaceX now are targeting March 2 for the launch of the agency's #Crew8 mission to @Space_Station due to unfavorable weather conditions in offshore areas along the flight track of the Dragon spacecraft" (Tweet). Retrieved 5 March 2024 – via Twitter.
- ^ Malik, Tariq (3 March 2024). "SpaceX delays Crew-8 astronaut launch for NASA due to high winds, next try on March 3". Space.com. Retrieved 4 March 2024.
- ^ Neale, Rick; Haris, Bianca (2 March 2024). "NASA SpaceX launch: Crew-8's mission from Cape Canaveral scrubbed over weather conditions". USA Today. Retrieved 5 March 2024.
- ^ NASA Commercial Crew [@Commercial_Crew] (29 February 2024). "Launch weather officers with @SLDelta45 predict a 40% chance of favorable weather conditions for the launch of @NASA's @SpaceX #Crew8 mission at 11:16 pm ET March 2 from @NASAKennedy's Launch Complex 39A" (Tweet). Retrieved 5 March 2024 – via Twitter.
- ^ NASA Commercial Crew [@Commercial_Crew] (3 March 2024). "For @NASA's @SpaceX #Crew8 launch, targeted at 10:53pm ET tonight, the @SLDelta45 predicts a 75% chance of favorable weather conditions" (Tweet). Retrieved 5 March 2024 – via Twitter.
- ^ Wall, Mike (2 May 2024). "SpaceX's Crew-8 astronauts move Dragon at the ISS to make way for Boeing's Starliner". Space.com. Future US, Inc. Retrieved 2 May 2024.
Endeavour autonomously docked with Harmony's space-facing port, Zenith, at 9:46 a.m. EDT (1346 GMT).
- ^ Foust, Jeff (6 June 2024). "Starliner docks with International Space Station on crewed test flight". SpaceNews. Archived from the original on 8 June 2024. Retrieved 6 June 2024.
- ^ Garcia, Mark (4 September 2024). "Crew Studies Space Effects on Humans, Prepares Spaceships for Departure". blogs.nasa.gov. Retrieved 5 September 2024.
- ^ Wulfeck, Andrew (19 October 2024). "SpaceX's Crew-8 prepare to depart space station after weeks of weather delays". FOX Weather. Retrieved 23 October 2024.
- ^ Taveau, Jessica (25 October 2024). "Back on Earth: NASA's SpaceX Crew-8 Mission Splashes Down Off Florida". NASA. Retrieved 25 October 2024.
- ^ Garcia, Mark (25 October 2024). "NASA Provides Update on Agency's SpaceX Crew-8 Health". NASA. Retrieved 25 October 2024.
- ^ Clark, Stephen (25 October 2024). "Astronaut released from hospital after "medical issue" upon return from space". Ars Technica. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
