With each mission to space there is one more step forward on humanity's road to Mars.
Humanity’s collaborative presence in Low-Earth Orbit is essential for our continued understanding of not just the vast expanse of space, but also so we can make life on Earth better. In the same way that Apollo-Soyuz symbolized peace at the end of the Cold War, perhaps continued international cooperation in space can sow awe and wonder around the world. Hopefully, it inspires the next generation of space pioneers and stokes the curiosity of others. Hopefully, we make that next giant leap together—as humanity—not just as the colors we each call home.
I find great joy in these missions as they offer great reprieve from the chaotic nature of society. Science, technology, engineering, arts & mathematics, people from all walks of life, a global network of good all make space travel what it has become. It will take a generation of like-minded individuals to not just make the world a better place, but also for us to become a multi-planetary species.
Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) is embarking on its eleventh human spaceflight mission and Crew-7 is the seventh official crew-rotation mission as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. With this launch, Expedition 70 aboard the ISS will be signaled to begin and shortly after the arrival of Crew-7, the Expedition 69/Crew-6 astronauts will return home to Earth after six months living and working in space.
Commercial crew missions enable NASA to maximize use of the Space Station, where astronauts have lived and worked continuously for more than 22 years testing technologies, performing research, and developing the skills needed to operate future commercial destinations in Low-Earth orbit and explore farther from Earth. Research conducted on the Space Station provides benefits for people on Earth and paves the way for future long-duration trips to the Moon and beyond, through NASA’s Artemis missions.
So who’s going to space?
- Jasmin Moghbeli (NASA) is the commander of the mission. She is a former Marine Corps test pilot and has over 2,000 hours of flight experience. She is also an engineer and has a master’s degree in aerospace engineering.
- Satoshi Furukawa (JAXA) is a mission specialist. He is a Japanese astronaut who has been training for this mission since 2017. He is also an engineer and has a master’s degree in aerospace engineering.
- Andreas Mogensen (ESA) is the pilot of the mission. He is a Danish astronaut who has flown to the International Space Station once before. He is also a doctor and has a PhD in medical sciences.
- Konstantin Borisov (Roscosmos) is a mission specialist. He is a Russian cosmonaut who has been training for this mission since 2022. He is also an engineer and has a master’s degree in mechanical engineering.
On the ground at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, Space Coast Chronicler, John Pisani began his coverage of this mission with the arrival of the crew on August 20, 2023. Just after 12pm noon at the Launch and Landing Facility (LLF), formerly Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF), Crew-7 disembarked from their Gulfstream aircraft onto the ground in Florida for launch week.
Aside from the arrival event, the crew will be busy prepping for launch. On Monday night/Tuesday morning, NASA & SpaceX teams completed a dry-dress rehearsal of launch day activities. They suited up, drove out to the pad and strapped into their specially fitted seats inside of the spacecraft. After teams were satisfied and ran through the checklist, the crew got out of the Dragon spacecraft, the pad was cleared and Falcon 9 was loaded with propellants and performed a six-second static fire of its nine Merlin 1D engines. These tests validated that both the spacecraft and launch vehicle were ready for flight.
On Thursday afternoon, media had the opportunity to place cameras around LC-39A ahead of the launch. These “remote” cameras as we call them, often use sound triggers to take photographs of the launch up close where we physically can not be for safety reasons. I was able to capture some stunning photos of launch from both the press site and remote locations adjacent to the launch complex.
I highly recommend a bus tour when visiting the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. You drive past the VAB, along the Crawlerway, right between SpaceX’s Falcon Support Building and hanger at 39A along Saturn Causeway. Once you turn north onto Cape Rd (sometimes called Beach Road), you have a massive sand dune on your right, protecting the spaceport and complexes A & B on your left. There were several tours passing through while we set cameras. So happy more people are able to experience a little bit of what I, or anyone else that’s out there, gets to experience. That vicinity to a rocket is just energizing.
When it came time to launch, the first attempt was called off due to some spacecraft life-support data that the teams wanted to analyze. Dragon has a 30-hour flight to Station, should there be any issues between launch and rendezvous, that could jeopardize the mission. So instead, Crew-7 launched the following day, August 26, 2023 at 3:27:27am EDT.
Every single time a crew launches, or some new exploration mission commences, is one more step toward humanity’s immortality amongst the stars. The next giant leap is with Artemis 2, the first crewed mission to the Moon aboard NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. The Artemis Accords have been signed by 27 countries. All pledging their commitment to the long-term goal of establishing a base on the Moon so we can get to Mars and beyond. The International Space Station Program has been an incredible resource and will inspire generations of commercial venture in LEO (Low-Earth Orbit). Expedition 70 will see things like 3-D printing metal in micro-gravity. This is essential for manufacturing in space or on the Moon.
While the space launches continue, so will I. Capturing what I can, from wherever I need be. At the Press Site within Kennedy Space Center, or along the shores of the lagoon. I am fully engulfed in the events on Florida’s Space Coast, knowing that one of these days I will be saying “Fair winds and following seas” to the first humans to sail the cosmic ocean to Mars.
Overlooking the Turn Basin at Kennedy Space Center. Falcon 9 rises with Dragon Endurance.
