SpaceX launches Crew-6 mission

On March 6, SpaceX successfully launched the Crew-6 mission. The first launch attempt had to be scrubbed after an issue with the TEA-TEB engine ignition system. This mission marked the fourth flight of the Crew Dragon Endeavour, which first flew on a Demo-2 mission in 2020. It spent 280 days in space prior to this mission. The ascent to orbit went smoothly with booster 1078 as the first stage. This booster was flying on its first mission and landed successfully on the Just Read the Instructions droneship located approximately 550 km northeast of the launch site. 

This mission marked the second launch of an astronaut from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) into space who will become the first Emirati to stay on the ISS for a long-duration mission. A deal between NASA and Axiom Space meant that the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Center (MBRSC) received this seat.

Crew-6 astronauts: Stephen Bowen is a veteran of three space shuttle flights. Warren Hoburg was selected as part of the 22nd astronaut group in 2017, this will be his first spaceflight. Sultan Al Neyadi became a member of the UAE’s first astronaut class in 2018 and launched aboard a Soyuz rocket on an eight-day mission in 2019. Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev will be making his first trip into space as part of an agreement between NASA and Roscosmos.

Crew Dragon successfully docked to the zenith docking port on the ISS’ Harmony module after troubleshooting the Hook 5 issue with a software update. The planned mission duration is 180 days.