Crew Dragon Freedom

Crew Dragon Freedom (serial number C212) is the fourth operational Crew Dragon reusable spacecraft manufactured and operated by SpaceX. It first launched on 27 April 2022 to the International Space Station (ISS) on the SpaceX Crew-4 mission. It was subsequently used for two private spaceflight missions to the ISS operated by Axiom Space, Axiom Mission 2 in May 2023 and Axiom Mission 3 in January 2024. It most recently launched to space in September 2024 on the SpaceX Crew-9 mission. The capsule was named after the fundamental human right of freedom and the Freedom 7 capsule that took astronaut Alan Shepard on the first human spaceflight from the United States.

Crew Dragon Freedom
Crew Dragon Freedom during rollout to pad 39A in April 2022.
Type	Space capsule
Class	Dragon 2
Eponym	Freedom 7
Serial no.	C212[1]
Owner	SpaceX
Manufacturer	SpaceX
Specifications
Dimensions	4.4 m × 3.7 m (14 ft × 12 ft)
Power	Solar panel
Rocket	Falcon 9 Block 5
History
Location	International Space Station
First flight	27 April–14 October 2022 Crew-4
Last flight	28 September 2024–present Crew‑9
Flights	4
Flight time	240 days, 11 hours, 20 minutes (currently in space)
Dragon 2s
← C211 C213 →

History

On 23 March 2022, it was announced that Dragon C212 had been given the name Freedom. Astronaut Kjell Lindgren said that the name was chosen because it celebrates a fundamental human right, and the industry and innovation that emanate from the unencumbered human spirit.^[2] The name also honors Freedom 7, the space capsule used by Alan Shepard's Mercury Redstone 3, the first United States human spaceflight mission (May 5, 1961).^[3][4]

On 16 April 2022, Freedom was transported from SpaceX's processing facility in Cape Canaveral to Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center.^[5] Freedom's maiden flight, SpaceX Crew-4, was originally scheduled for 20 April 2022 but was delayed to 23 April due to launch preparations.^[6] The mission was later delayed again because the docking port needed for arrival (Harmony zenith port) was occupied by Crew Dragon Endeavour on Axiom Mission 1 (Ax-1). Ax-1's departure, originally set for 19 April, was delayed until 25 April due to bad weather in the recovery zones in the Atlantic Ocean.^[7] Freedom successfully launched for SpaceX Crew-4 on 27 April 2022.^[8]

Flights

List includes only completed or currently manifested missions. Dates are listed in UTC, and for future events, they are the earliest possible opportunities (also known as NET dates) and may change.

Flight No.	Mission and Patch	Launch	Landing	Duration	Remarks	Crew	Outcome
1	Crew-4	27 April 2022, 07:52:55	14 October 2022, 20:55:03	170 days, 13 hours, 2 minutes	Long duration mission. Ferried four members of the Expedition 67/68 crew to the ISS.	Kjell N. Lindgren Robert Hines Samantha Cristoforetti Jessica Watkins	Success
2	Axiom Mission 2 (patch)	21 May 2023, 21:37:09	31 May 2023, 03:04:24	9 days, 5 hours, 27 minutes	Fully private flight to the ISS. Contracted by Axiom Space. Axiom employee served as commander, Saudi Space Agency bought two seats and sent two astronauts to research cancer, cloud seeding, and microgravity.[9] Third seat purchased by a tourist.	Peggy Whitson John Shoffner Ali AlQarni Rayyanah Barnawi	Success
3	Axiom Mission 3 (patch)	18 January 2024 21:49:11	9 February 2024 13:30	21 days, 15 hours, 40 minutes	Fully private flight to the ISS. Axiom employee served as commander, other seats purchased by AM, TUA and SNSA/ESA.	/ Michael López-Alegría Walter Villadei Alper Gezeravcı Marcus Wandt	Success
4	Crew‑9	28 September 2024 17:17:21	February 2025	1 month and 9 days	Long-duration mission. Was the first crewed mission to launch from SLC-40.[10] Launch was delayed and will ferry two crew members of the Expedition 72 crew to the ISS and will return them along with the crew from the Boeing Crew Flight Test because of issues with the Boeing Starliner Calypso.[11]	Nick Hague Aleksandr Gorbunov Barry E. Wilmore (landing only) Sunita Williams (landing only)	In progress

References

• Spaceflight portal

1. "Ax-1 Mission Briefing". YouTube.
2. Kjell Lindgren [@astro_kjell] (23 March 2022). "FREEDOM!! Crew-4 will fly to the International Space Station in a new Dragon capsule named 'Freedom.' The name celebrates a fundamental human right, and the industry and innovation that emanate from the unencumbered human spirit. 1/" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
3. "SpaceX Dragon 'Freedom' named for first astronaut's ride into space". 23 March 2022. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
4. Johnson Space Center PR [@NASA_Johnson] (31 March 2022). "Launch update! NASA's SpaceX #Crew4 mission is now launching no earlier than April 20 at 6:37 a.m. ET. The four astronauts are set to arrive at the @Space_Station the next day" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
5. "NASA to Air Crew Activities as Crew-4 Astronauts Prepare, Return to Earth". Space Coast Daily. 12 October 2022. Retrieved 12 October 2022.
6. Howell, Elizabeth (14 April 2022). "SpaceX's Crew-4 astronaut mission delayed again, to April 23". Space.com. Retrieved 25 May 2024.
7. Clark, Stephen (20 April 2022). "Next SpaceX crew launch on hold to wait for return of private astronaut mission". Spaceflight Now. Retrieved 25 May 2024.
8. Dinner, Josh (27 April 2022). "SpaceX launches Crew-4 astronauts to space station on a Dragon named Freedom". Space.com. Retrieved 25 May 2024.
9. "Saudi astronauts to research cancer, cloud seeding, microgravity in space". Al Arabiya English. 23 March 2023. Retrieved 6 April 2023.
10. Niles-Carnes, Elyna (6 August 2024). "NASA Adjusts Crew-9 Launch Date for Operational Flexibility – NASA's SpaceX Crew-9 Mission". NASA. Retrieved 6 August 2024.
11. "NASA decides to keep 2 astronauts in space until February, nixes return on troubled Boeing capsule". AP News. 24 August 2024. Retrieved 26 August 2024.

External links

• Media related to Crew Dragon Freedom at Wikimedia Commons