SpaceX Crew-4

SpaceX Crew-4 was the Crew Dragon's fourth NASA Commercial Crew operational flight, and its seventh overall crewed orbital flight. The mission launched on 27 April 2022 at 07:52 UTC^[6] before docking with the International Space Station (ISS) at 23:37 UTC. It followed shortly after the private Axiom 1 mission to the ISS earlier in the month utilizing SpaceX hardware. Three American (NASA) astronauts and one European (ESA) astronaut were on board the mission.^[7][8][9]

SpaceX Crew-4

Freedom launches to the ISS with the crew members of Crew-4 onboard.
Names	USCV-4
Mission type	ISS crew transport
Operator	SpaceX
COSPAR ID	2022-042A
SATCAT no.	52318
Mission duration	170 days, 13 hours, 2 minutes, 32 seconds[1][2]
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft	Crew Dragon Freedom
Spacecraft type	Crew Dragon
Manufacturer	SpaceX
Launch mass	12,519 kg (27,600 lb)
Landing mass	9,616 kg (21,200 lb)
Crew
Crew size	4
Members	Kjell Lindgren Robert Hines Samantha Cristoforetti Jessica Watkins
Expedition	Expedition 67 / 68
Start of mission
Launch date	27 April 2022, 07:52:55 (27 April 2022, 07:52:55) UTC (3:52:55 am EDT)[3]
Rocket	Falcon 9 Block 5 (B1067.4)
Launch site	Kennedy, LC‑39A
End of mission
Recovered by	MV Megan
Landing date	14 October 2022, 20:55:27 (14 October 2022, 20:55:27) UTC (4:55:27 pm EDT)
Landing site	Atlantic Ocean, near Jacksonville, Florida[4]
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Geocentric orbit
Regime	Low Earth orbit
Inclination	51.64°
Docking with ISS
Docking port	Harmony zenith
Docking date	27 April 2022, 23:37 UTC
Undocking date	14 October 2022, 16:05 UTC[5]
Time docked	169 days, 16 hours, 28 minutes
Mission patch From left: Hines, Cristoforetti, Watkins and Lindgren Commercial Crew Program ← SpaceX Crew-3 SpaceX Crew-5 → Crew Dragon flights ← Axiom Mission 1 SpaceX Crew-5 →

Crew-4 was the maiden flight of the Crew Dragon spacecraft named Freedom, named such by the crew because it "celebrates a fundamental human right, and the industry and innovation that emanate from the unencumbered human spirit".^[10] The booster used on this mission was the B1067, which makes it the first Commercial Crew mission to use a booster on its fourth flight (it previously was used to launch SpaceX Crew-3 in 2021).^[11]

Crew

NASA astronauts Kjell Lindgren and Robert Hines were announced on 12 February 2021 to the crew.^[7][8] Samantha Cristoforetti was named the commander of Expedition 68 on 28 May 2021.^[12] Jessica Watkins was named mission specialist on 16 November 2021.^[13] Cristoforetti was later removed as commander of Expedition 68 due to the shortening of the Crew-4 mission.^[14]

Prime crew

Position	Astronaut
Commander	Kjell N. Lindgren, NASA Expedition 67 / 68 Second spaceflight
Pilot	Robert Hines, NASA Expedition 67 / 68 First spaceflight
Mission Specialist 1	Samantha Cristoforetti, ESA Expedition 67 / 68 Second spaceflight
Mission Specialist 2	Jessica Watkins, NASA Expedition 67 / 68 First spaceflight

Backup crew

Position[15]	Astronaut
Commander	Steve Bowen, NASA

Mission

The mission duration was 170 days.^[4] The European part of the mission was called Minerva,^[16] named after the Roman goddess of wisdom,^[17] and it was European astronaut Cristoforetti's second mission to the ISS.

Gallery

SpaceX Crew-4

• 
  Crew-4 astronauts before flight
• 
  ISS configuration during Crew-4
• 
  Crew-4 and Starliner OFT-2 docked to the ISS
• 
  Freedom after reentry and splashdown

See also

• Dragon C206 Endeavour
• Dragon C207 Resilience
• Boeing Starliner

References

1. Sheetz, Michael (27 April 2022). "SpaceX launches Crew-4 mission for NASA, has now sent 26 astronauts to space in under two years". CNBC. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
2. NASA (2022). "Crew-4 Mission Overview" (PDF). NASA. p. 1. Retrieved 27 April 2022. Crew-4 is scheduled for a long duration stay of up to six months aboard station conducting science and maintenance before returning to Earth in the fall of 2022.
3. Garcia, Mark (27 April 2022). "SpaceX Crew-4 Launches to Join Station Crew Tonight". NASA. Retrieved 28 April 2022.
4. Garcia, Mark (14 October 2022). "SpaceX Crew-4 Returns with Splashdown on Florida's Atlantic Coast". NASA. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
5. Wall, Mike (14 October 2022). "SpaceX's Crew-4 mission leaves space station and heads for home". space.com. Retrieved 14 October 2022. Crew-4's Dragon capsule, named Freedom, undocked from the International Space Station (ISS) on Friday (Oct. 14) at 12:05 p.m. EDT (1605 GMT)
6. Griffin, Amanda (22 April 2022). "NASA and SpaceX Adjust Agency's Crew-4 Launch Date". NASA. Retrieved 23 April 2022.
7. Finch, Joshua (25 April 2022). "Coverage Updated for NASA's SpaceX Crew-4 Briefing, Events, Broadcast". nasa.gov. NASA. Retrieved 27 April 2022. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
8. Howell, Elizabeth (23 February 2021). "These 2 NASA astronauts will fly on SpaceX's Crew-4 mission to the International Space Station in 2022". Space.com. Retrieved 23 February 2021.
9. Ellis, Kathleen (18 March 2022). "NASA, SpaceX Adjust Target Launch Date for Crew-4 Mission". nasa.gov. NASA. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
10. Klotz, Irene (6 October 2021). "Forum - Crew-4". NASASpaceFlight.com. p. 2. Retrieved 30 October 2021.
11. @jeff_foust (19 January 2022). "Steve Stich says the Crew-4 flight will be the first commercial crew mission using a booster on its fourth flight" (Tweet). Retrieved 19 January 2022 – via Twitter.
12. "Commanding role for ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti". ESA. 28 May 2021. Retrieved 28 May 2021.
13. "NASA Assigns Astronaut Jessica Watkins to NASA's SpaceX Crew-4 Mission". NASA. 16 November 2021. Retrieved 16 November 2021. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
14. "Revised flight plan brings change for Samantha". ESA. 2 March 2021. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
15. "Stephen G. Bowen (Captain, USN, Ret.) NASA Astronaut". NASA. 26 April 2021. Retrieved 28 May 2021. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
16. "Minerva: ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti's second mission to the International Space Station". esa.int. ESA. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
17. "Minerva patch explained". European Space Agency. 3 March 2022. Retrieved 28 April 2022. Inspired by the Roman goddess of wisdom, the handicrafts and the arts, the name Minerva is a homage to the competence and sophisticated craftmanship of the men and women all over the world who make human spaceflight possible.