A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from historic Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, carrying Crew-11, four astronauts bound for the International Space Station aboard the Crew Dragon capsule Endeavour on Aug. 1.
Crew-11 includes:
-NASA astronaut Zena Cardman, mission commander
-NASA astronaut Mike Finke, pilot
-Mission Specialist Kimya Yui of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
-Cosmonaut Oleg Platonov of Roscosmos, the Russian space agency
The crew will spend approximately six months aboard the ISS, where they will conduct a multitude of scientific experiments such as research on stem cell growth in microgravity.
Crew-11 docked at the ISS just under 15 hours after liftoff, achieving the fastest rendezvous with the station of any SpaceX launched crew to date.
As NASA works to continue normal ISS operations, the agency is ramping up for the launch of Artemis II according to the NASA website. Set to launch no earlier than Febuary 2026, Artemis II will be the first mission in 53 years to carry humans to lunar orbit, since Apollo 17.
Following Artemis II, Artemis III is set to land astronauts on the moon, currently scheduled for no earlier than 2028 according to NASA.
Speaking to a group of NASA Social participants after the crew walkout on July 31, acting NASA Administrator Sean Duffy discussed the timeline for upcoming Artemis missions.
“Everything has to be safe, that’s the top priority, but if we can move these missions up we’re going to,” Duffy said.
The Artemis III moon landing is planned aboard a modified SpaceX Starship spaceship. However, the Starship program has experienced a series of explosive failures potentially risking delays to the mission.
Speaking about Starship, Duffy remarked on SpaceX’s iterative approach stating that they seem to fail repeatedly and then suddenly find success.
“I talked to the leadership team yesterday and they feel very comfortable on Starship,” Duffy said. “They said if there’s a holdup on Artemis III, not gonna be them.”
The Space Launch System rocket set to carry Artemis II is currently stacked inside NASA’s Vehicle Assembly Building awaiting its final piece; the Orion capsule that will carry the crew.
As Artemis II progresses toward launch early next year, hardware for Artemis III has already begun arriving in the VAB with the engine section of Artemis III’s SLS rocket being delivered on July 29.
