NASA and SpaceX to launch Tenth Crewed Mission to the International Space Station on Wednesday

Launch is targeted for March 12, 7:48 pm ET, carrying NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Takuya Onishi, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov.

Four crew members are preparing to launch to the International Space Station as part of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-10 mission to perform research, technology demonstrations, and maintenance activities aboard the microgravity laboratory.

The mission which will also return stranded astronauts Butch Williams and Sunita (Suni) Williams to earth, is ready for launch on March 12, pending weather and any technical issues.

Currently, weather at Launch Complex 39A is more than 95% "go" for liftoff of Crew 10, according to weather officials with Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

NASA astronauts Anne McClain, Nichole Ayers, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Takuya Onishi, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov will lift off from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on the Space Coast.

The flight is the 10th crew rotation mission with SpaceX to the space station, and the 11th human spaceflight as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.

Currently the launch is scheduled for Wednesday, March 12, at 7.48 pm, and a short drive to the Space Coat will offer the chance to experience the thrill of a SpaceX Falcon 9 launch up close.

Playalinda Beach would be the best place to view this launch, with the next best location in Titusville, on top of the Max Brewer bridge or Parrish Park, or elsewhere along the river. Another option is at Port Canaveral on Rt. 528.

Following liftoff, the Falcon 9 rocket will accelerate Dragon to approximately 17,500 mph. Once in orbit, the crew and SpaceX mission control in Hawthorne, California, will monitor a series of maneuvers that will guide Dragon to the forward-facing port of the station’s Harmony module. The spacecraft is designed to dock autonomously, but the crew can take control and pilot manually, if necessary.

After docking, Crew-10 will be welcomed aboard the station by the seven-member crew of Expedition 72 and conduct a short handover period on science and maintenance activities with the departing Crew-9 crew members. Then, NASA astronauts Nick Hague, Suni Williams, Butch Wilmore, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov will undock from the space station and return to Earth. Ahead of Crew-9 return, mission teams will review weather conditions at the splashdown sites off the coast of Florida prior to departure from station.

Crew-10 will conduct new scientific research to prepare for human exploration beyond low Earth orbit and benefit humanity on Earth. The crew is scheduled to conduct material flammability tests for future spacecraft designs, engage with students via ham radio and use its existing hardware to test a backup lunar navigation solution, and participate in an integrated study to better understand physiological and psychological changes to the human body to provide valuable insights for future deep space missions.

These are just a few of the more than 200 scientific experiments and technology demonstrations taking place during the mission.

While aboard the orbiting laboratory, Crew-10 will welcome a Soyuz spacecraft with three new crew members, including NASA astronaut Jonny Kim, and they will bid farewell to the Soyuz carrying NASA astronaut Don Pettit. The crew also is expected to see the arrival of the SpaceX Dragon, Roscosmos Progress, and Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus cargo spacecraft, as well as the short-duration private Axiom Mission 4 crew.

The cadre will fly aboard the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft, named Endurance, which previously flew NASA’s SpaceX Crew-3, Crew-5, and Crew-7 missions.

Commercial crew missions enable NASA to maximize use of the space station, where astronauts have lived and worked continuously for more than 24 years, testing technologies, performing research, and developing the skills needed to operate future commercial destinations in low Earth orbit, and explore farther from Earth. Research conducted on the space station benefits people on Earth and paves the way for future long-duration missions to the Moon and beyond through NASA’s Artemis missions.

Learn more about the space station, its research, and crew, at: https://www.nasa.gov/station.

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