Loading AI tools
Public-private partnership associated with the United States' return to human spaceflight From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Launch America is a public–private partnership between the United States and multiple space companies, closely related to NASA's Commercial Crew Program. The term "Launch America" was used as early as May 2016.[1] The initiative aims to end NASA's reliance on Roscosmos by developing launch systems that can carry crews to space from American soil.[2][3]
Launch America | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Status | Active |
Genre | Long-term public-private partnership |
Country | United States |
Years active | 4 |
Previous event | SpaceX Crew-6 |
Next event | Boeing Crewed Flight Test |
Organized by | NASA |
The first space launch under the "Launch America" banner occurred at the Demo-2 mission on 30 May 2020, successfully taking two astronauts to the International Space Station. This marked both the first launch of astronauts by a wholly commercial provider mission in the world, as well as the first crewed space launch by the U.S. in a decade, and the first ever crewed space launch by SpaceX.[4][5][6]
Mission and Patch | Capsule | Launch date | Landing date | Description | Crew | Outcome |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Demo-2 ![]() |
Crew Dragon Endeavour | 30 May 2020[5][6] | 2 August 2020 | First space launch under "Launch America" banner. This marked both the first launch of astronauts by a wholly commercial provider mission in the world, and the first crewed space launch by the U.S. in a decade, as well as being the first ever crewed space launch by SpaceX. | Success | |
SpaceX Crew-1 ![]() |
Crew Dragon Resilience | 16 November 2020[7] | 2 May 2021[8] | First operational Commercial Crew flight, second overall crewed orbital flight of Crew Dragon, flying four astronauts to the ISS for a six-month mission. Roscosmos had not yet certified the Crew Dragon vehicle, so a third NASA astronaut was added instead of a Russian cosmonaut.[9] Broke the record for the longest spaceflight by a U.S. crew vehicle, previously held by the Skylab 4 mission.[10] All members of this flight were part of the Expedition 64 crew. | Success | |
SpaceX Crew-2 ![]() |
Crew Dragon Endeavour | 23 April 2021[11] | 9 November 2021[12] | Second operational Commercial Crew flight, third overall crewed orbital flight of Crew Dragon, transferring crew to the ISS for a six-month mission. NASA agreed to allow SpaceX to reuse a booster and capsule for the first time on this flight. It was the first NASA orbital flight to reuse a crewed vehicle since STS-135 in 2011. After spending almost 200 days in orbit, the Crew Dragon Endeavour set the record for the longest spaceflight by a U.S. crew vehicle previously set by her sibling Crew Dragon Resilience on May 2, 2021.[13] All members of this flight were part of the Expedition 65 crew. | Success | |
SpaceX Crew-3 ![]() |
Crew Dragon Endurance | 11 November 2021[16] | 6 May 2022[17] | Third operational Commercial Crew flight, fifth overall crewed flight of Crew Dragon, transporting four astronauts to the ISS for a six-month mission. All members of this flight were part of the Expedition 66 and Expedition 67 crews. | Success | |
SpaceX Crew-4 ![]() |
Crew Dragon Freedom | 27 April 2022[19] | 14 October 2022[20] | The fourth flight contracted under CCP contract and the seventh overall crewed flight of Crew Dragon.[21] All members of this flight were part of the Expedition 67 and Expedition 68 crews. | Success | |
SpaceX Crew-5 ![]() |
Crew Dragon Endurance[28] | 5 October 2022[29] | 18 March 2023[30] | The fifth flight contracted under CCP contract and the eighth overall crewed orbital flight of Crew Dragon.[21] The fourth astronaut is Russian cosmonaut, Anna Kikina, flying on this mission as a part of Dragon–Soyuz swap flights that ensures both countries would have a presence on the station, and the ability to maintain their separate systems, if either Soyuz or commercial crew vehicles are grounded for an extended period.[31] All members of this flight are part of the Expedition 68 and Expedition 69 crews. | Success | |
SpaceX Crew-6 ![]() |
Crew Dragon Endeavour[35] | 2 March 2023[36] | 4 September 2023 | The sixth flight contracted under CCP contract.[21] | Success | |
SpaceX Crew-7 | Crew Dragon Endurance | 26 August 2023[37] | 12 March 2024 | In late 2021, NASA contracted SpaceX for three more Commercial Crew Flights starting from Crew-7.[38] | Success | |
SpaceX Crew-8 ![]() |
Crew Dragon Endeavour | 4 March 2024 | NET
August 2024 |
In late 2021, NASA contracted SpaceX for three more Commercial Crew Flights starting from Crew-7.[38] | Docked at ISS | |
Boeing Crewed Flight Test | Starliner Calypso[43] | 5 June 2024 | June 2024 | The first crewed mission of Boeing Starliner, delayed several times. | Docked at ISS | |
SpaceX Crew-9 ![]() |
TBA | NET August 2024 | Early 2025 | In late 2021, NASA contracted SpaceX for three more Commercial Crew Flights starting from Crew-7.[38] | Planned | |
Boeing Starliner-1 | Starliner | NET
Q1 2025 |
NET 2025 | First operational flight of Boeing Starliner. | Planned | |
SpaceX Crew-10[45] | TBA | TBA | TBA | In May 2022, NASA contracted SpaceX for five more Commercial Crew Flights starting from Crew-10. | TBA | Planned |
SpaceX Crew-11[45] | TBA | TBA | TBA | In May 2022, NASA contracted SpaceX for five more Commercial Crew Flights starting from Crew-10. | TBA | Planned |
SpaceX Crew-12[45] | TBA | TBA | TBA | In May 2022, NASA contracted SpaceX for five more Commercial Crew Flights starting from Crew-10. | TBA | Planned |
SpaceX Crew-13[45] | TBA | TBA | TBA | In May 2022, NASA contracted SpaceX for five more Commercial Crew Flights starting from Crew-10. | TBA | Planned |
SpaceX Crew-14[45] | TBA | TBA | TBA | In May 2022, NASA contracted SpaceX for five more Commercial Crew Flights starting from Crew-10. | TBA | Planned |
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Every time you click a link to Wikipedia, Wiktionary or Wikiquote in your browser's search results, it will show the modern Wikiwand interface.
Wikiwand extension is a five stars, simple, with minimum permission required to keep your browsing private, safe and transparent.