NASA, SpaceX target July 31 for launch of Crew-11 to ISSNASA and SpaceX are now targeting July 31 for the launch of Crew-11 to the International Space Station, a mission moved up to accommodate upcoming station activities.
The flight will carry NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, Japanese astronaut Kimiya Yui and Russian cosmonaut Oleg Platonov.
The crew will launch aboard the same Crew Dragon capsule that first flew astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley to the ISS over five years ago.
The July 31 target date will allow Crew-11 to relieve Crew-10 before an upcoming Cargo Dragon mission, which will include an extended reboost experiment to raise the orbit of the space station.
The astronauts gave their final update from Houston this afternoon before heading to Kennedy Space Center to prepare for their six to eight-month science mission.
“Life is a journey, it takes many turns, and I’m just grateful to be here,” said NASA astronaut Zena Cardman.
“It’s often said that it’s not when you fly, but with whom you fly, and it worked out super well,” said Fincke.
NASA also confirmed that Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft could still fly future commercial crew missions.
“Starliner is really important that we have more opportunities and more capabilities to fly into space,” said Fincke.
The flight readiness review for Crew-11 is scheduled for next week, around the time Axiom-4 is expected to return with a splashdown off the U.S. West Coast.
There will be a short handover between Crew-10 and Crew-11 before Crew-10 heads home.
Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.
