With each mission to space there is one more step forward on humanity's road to Mars.
Credit: John Pisani for Cosmic Perspective
An international crew of four journeyed from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center to the International Space Station on October 5, 2022. The mission, SpaceX and NASA’s Crew-5 aboard Falcon 9 and Crew Dragon Endurance for Expedition 68, a long-duration stay at the orbital laboratory to complete science experiments and other important tasks while on-orbit.
NASA astronauts Nicole Mann and Josh Cassada will embark on their first space flight along with fellow first-time flier, Cosmonaut Anna Kikina. JAXA’s Koichi Wakata rounds out the crew with his fifth flight to space. Nicole will serve as spacecraft Commander, Josh is the spacecraft Pilot, Koichi is Mission Specialist 1, with Anna as the second Mission Specialist.
On the ground at Kennedy Space Center, Cosmic Perspective’s John Pisani captured a sequence of events starting with setting up remote cameras at 39A, attending the Crew-5 astronaut walk-out and then witnessing the launch, a grand gesture of international collaboration, human achievement and wonder from the roof of NASA’s iconic Vehicle Assembly Building.
You can see it from several corners of the Space Coast, out there over the river standing tall and seemingly small, yet larger than you can imagine, the Vehicle Assembly Building. Being inside of it is fantastic. Being on top to witness a launch, mind-blowing. The Crew-5 launch was my first time up to the top, some 525 ft above the ground at Kennedy Space Center.
Panoramic views of the spaceport and surrounding areas. Pad after pad, after pad, after pad all on display. So many footsteps I’ve shared with other chroniclers. Footsteps that witnessed both greatness and disaster in spaceflight I would assume. So many things come to light in regards to this first trip up and thankfulness is probably the most profound feeling. While doing the things I do to document spaceflight is fun and greatly enjoyed by many, I do know that I have a responsibility to not just chronicle what has happened, but to share my experiences, archive them for the future and help celebrate human accomplishments within spaceflight with all of you! And this mission was full of reasons to celebrate new chapters on our road to Mars.
The launch of Crew-5 marked an end to a draught of Russian Cosmonauts coming to the United States for a ride to space. This time aboard a flight-proven SpaceX Dragon spacecraft named Endurance. Another interesting note on this mission’s crew is Nicole Mann becoming the first Native American to fly in space. Following missions like Inspiration 4, Axiom-1 and these blended Commercial Crew Program flights is an avalanche of missions with the mindset of opening up access to space to more and more people and organizations via private and commercial partnerships.
With this mission launched and docked to station, and with the Crew-4 astronauts having returned back to Earth, SpaceX has sent 30 people to low-earth-orbit and back, safely. They continue to push the envelope and expand the uses of their Falcon 9 and Dragon systems. In fact, the Polaris Dawn mission is the first of three human spaceflight milestones planned to help test Dragon in higher orbits, as well as supporting EVA’s. The third mission will ultimately be the first crewed launch aboard a Starship.
Knowing that the history I am capturing at the moment is important to share, I can’t help but know that each small step I capture in the history of spaceflight prepares me for the next giant leap. With that said, I also share a common goal of pushing the envelope, testing new things and experiencing the difficulties of taking risks. Recording audio and video of these mega-moments with Cosmic Perspective is a journey in itself. Hours of testing sophisticated equipment, co-creating solutions in the moment when Ryan is in California and John and Andrew are in Florida. All of us at Cosmic Perspective are in the midst of collecting different perspectives of cosmic wonders that are taking their very first steps into the black. As I have said before in a previous article, capturing this stuff is a story within a story and we can’t wait to keep capturing and sharing it with you all.
Crew-5 are all in and about to head to the pad for their ride to space.
Credit: John Pisani for Cosmic Perspective
With the help of virtual reality (VR) recording and immersive audio, Cosmic Perspective can place you on the ground at a launch pad to watch a space launch. All you need is a VR headset. I was able to set up one of our virtual reality recording kits at the Saturn Cswy camera stop. Just east of 39A, you can see Falcon 9 with Crew Dragon Endurance there and the massive construction of SpaceX’s Starship infrastructure being built at historic 39A. In the foreground, dozens of cameras are ready awaiting liftoff.
With that, this journey for Crew-5 continues in space, orbiting overhead of us all. Doing science, living and experiencing the overview effect. I can’t wait to hear more about this group of four and following their eventual return home.
Stereo mic and recorder setup with our VR camera and binaural mic and recorder.
Credit: John Pisani for Cosmic Perspective
Credit: John Pisani for Cosmic Perspective
Credit: John Pisani for Cosmic Perspective
Credit: John Pisani for Cosmic Perspective
Credit: John Pisani for Cosmic Perspective
Credit: John Pisani for Cosmic Perspective
Credit: John Pisani for Cosmic Perspective
