Engineering:SpaceX Crew-8

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SpaceX Crew-8
Crew Dragon C206 Endeavour lifts off from LC-39A
NamesUSCV-8
Mission typeISS crew transport
OperatorSpaceX
Mission duration235 days, 3 hours, 35 minutes
Distance travelled100 million mi (160 million km)
Orbits completed3,760
Spacecraft properties
SpacecraftCrew Dragon C206 Endeavour
Spacecraft typeCrew Dragon
ManufacturerSpaceX
Crew
Crew size4
Members
  • Matthew Dominick
  • Michael Barratt
  • Jeanette Epps
  • Alexander Grebenkin
ExpeditionExpedition 70/71/72
Start of mission
Launch date4 March 2024, 03:53:38 UTC (3 March, 10:53:38 pm EST)[1][2]
RocketFalcon 9 Block 5 (B1083‑1), Flight 305
Launch siteKennedy, LC‑39A
End of mission
Recovered by missing name
Landing dateOctober 25, 2024, 07:29:02 UTC (3:29:02 am EDT)
Landing siteGulf of Mexico, near Pensacola, Florida ( [ ⚑ ] 29°48′40″N 87°33′25″W / 29.81111°N 87.55694°W / 29.81111; -87.55694)
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric orbit
RegimeLow Earth orbit
Inclination51.65°
Docking with ISS
Docking portHarmony forward[3]
Docking dateMarch 5, 2024, 08:00 UTC
Undocking dateMay 2, 2024, 12:57 UTC
Time docked58 days, 4 hours, 57 minutes
Docking with ISS (relocation)[lower-alpha 1]
Docking portHarmony zenith
Docking dateMay 2, 2024, 13:46 UTC
Undocking dateOctober 23, 2024, 21:05 UTC
Time docked174 days, 7 hours and 19 minutes

NASA (left) and SpaceX (right) mission patches

From left: Grebenkin, Barratt, Dominick, and Epps 

SpaceX Crew-8 was the eighth crewed operational NASA Commercial Crew flight and the 13th overall crewed orbital flight of a Crew Dragon spacecraft. The mission launched on March 4, 2024.

The Crew-8 mission transported four crew members to the International Space Station (ISS). Three NASA astronauts, Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt, and Jeanette Epps, and one Roscosmos cosmonaut, Alexander Grebenkin, were assigned to the mission.[4][5]

The Crew-8 mission was extended to accommodate problems encountered by the Boeing Crew Flight Test during its mission. The crew outfitted the Crew-8 capsule to accommodate two extra astronauts if an emergency occurred prior to Crew-9 docking on September 29, 2024.[6]

Crew

Position[7] Crew
Commander United States Matthew Dominick, NASA
Expedition 70/71/72
First spaceflight
Pilot United States Michael Barratt, NASA
Expedition 70/71/72
Third spaceflight
Mission specialist United States Jeanette Epps, NASA
Expedition 70/71/72
Only spaceflight
Mission specialist Russia Alexander Grebenkin, Roscosmos
Expedition 70/71/72
First spaceflight

Mission

Crew-8 was the eighth SpaceX operational mission in the Commercial Crew Program and the 13th overall crewed orbital flight of a Crew Dragon spacecraft.[8] The mission launched at 3:53:38 UTC on 4 March 2024 (3 March, 10:53:38 pm EST, local time at the launch site).[9] SpaceX sent the 50th astronaut on this Crew Dragon launch.[10]

The first launch attempt, the day prior was scrubbed at T−03:25:38 due to elevated winds in offshore areas of the flight path.[11][12][13][14]

Launch attempt summary

Note: times are local to the launch site (Eastern Daylight Time).

Attempt Planned Result Turnaround Reason Decision point Weather go (%) Notes
1 2024-03-02 11:16 PM 2 Mar 2024, 11:16:00 pm Scrubbed — Weather 2024-03-03, 8:51 PM 3 Mar 2024, 8:51 pm (T−03:25:38) Elevated ascent winds
2 2024-03-03 10:53:38 PM 3 Mar 2024, 10:53:38 pm Success 0 days, 23 hours, 38 minutes

Relocation

To make way for a Boeing Starliner as a part of the planned May 6, 2024 Boeing Crew Flight Test that would dock to the forward port of Harmony, the crew relocated Crew Dragon C206 Endeavour to the zenith port of Harmony on May 2, 2024, docking to the zenith port at 13:46 UTC. After several delays, Starliner docked on June 6, 2024.[15] Boeing Starliner Spacecraft 3 Calypso successfully launched on June 5, 2024, and docked to the forward port of Harmony on June 6.[16]

Support for Starliner CFT

Temporary seat structures built and installed on the Crew Dragon using foam, straps, and other station soft goods such as cushions.

The Boeing Crew Flight Test mission docked with the ISS on June 6, 2024, after experiencing anomalies with its thrusters. Its crew of two remained on the ISS for an unplanned extended stay, while NASA and Boeing evaluated the problems. NASA decided that the uncertainties were too high to have the crew return to Earth on Starliner, so they sent the Crew-9 mission to the ISS with a crew of two, and the Starliner crew then returned to Earth with Crew-9 in March 2025, while Starliner undocked from the ISS and made a successful uncrewed return to Earth in September 2024. This was necessary, because the ISS has only two IDSS ports shared between Dragon and Starliner. However, each ISS crewmember needs a contingency "lifeboat" in the event of an ISS emergency, and uncrewed undocking of the Starliner would leave its crew without a lifeboat. Therefore, NASA directed the crews to install two extra crew positions in the cargo area of the Crew-8 capsule to provide the lifeboat function after Starliner undocks and before Crew-9 docked.[6] Until Crew-9 arrived, they moved to SpaceX Crew-8, their temporary emergency evacuation spacecraft, and subsequently to Crew-9.[17]

Mission duration

Crew-8 was originally planned to return to Earth in early August after a nominal 180-day mission, but the mission was extended several times. It was extended initially as NASA investigated the CFT situation and again to provide the lifeboat function while Boeing worked to reconfigure Starliner to perform the uncrewed return. The NASA maximum mission time for Crew Dragon is ordinarily 210 days, but NASA extended it to 240 days for this mission. The overlap after Crew-9 arrived was slightly longer than usual to allow time to reconfigure Crew-8 and Crew-9 as the Starliner astronauts moved to Crew-9. The return of Crew-8 was delayed for several additional weeks due to poor weather conditions in the splashdown zones surrounding Florida caused by Hurricane Milton and several other storms.[18] The cumulative delays caused Crew-8 to become the longest Dragon mission.

Landing

Crew-8 undocked from the ISS on October 23, 2024, at 21:05 UTC. After completing 3,760 orbits and traveling nearly 100 million miles (160 million kilometers), Endeavour began its entry back into the Earth's atmosphere and splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico, near Pensacola, Florida on October 25, 2024, at 07:29:02 UTC (3:29:02 am EDT, local time at the landing site).[19]

During the parachute deploy sequence it was observed that the opening of main parachute was delayed. Additionally drogue debris strikes were observed.[20]

The capsule taken aboard the recovery ship missing name. After the crew exited the spacecraft, they were taken into the ship's onboard medical treatment facility for evaluations. After that check-up, NASA flew all of the crew members to the Ascension Sacred Heart Pensacola by helicopter for additional evaluation. One astronaut was hospitalized, but NASA declined to provide the individual's condition or identity. NASA said that the entry and splashdown was normal and the recovery of the crew and the spacecraft was without incident.[21] The astronaut was released from the hospital the following day and was said to be in "good health".[22]

SpaceX Crew-8
  • Crew-8 astronauts at the O&C Building
    Crew-8 astronauts at the O&C Building
  • Crew Dragon C206 Endeavour sits atop its Falcon 9 rocket on LC-39A
    Crew Dragon C206 Endeavour sits atop its Falcon 9 rocket on LC-39A
  • Crew Dragon Endeavour approaching the International Space Station
    Crew Dragon Endeavour approaching the International Space Station
  • Crew Dragon C206 Endeavour docked to the zenith port of the Harmony module of the ISS, as seen from inside the Boeing Starliner Spacecraft 3 Calypso
    Crew Dragon C206 Endeavour docked to the zenith port of the Harmony module of the ISS, as seen from inside the Boeing Starliner Spacecraft 3 Calypso
  • A SpaceX technician secures a strap around Crew Dragon Endeavour shortly after it splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico
    A SpaceX technician secures a strap around Crew Dragon Endeavour shortly after it splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico
  • SpaceX Crew-8 astronauts inside Crew Dragon Endeavour shortly after splashdown and being lifted aboard missing name
    SpaceX Crew-8 astronauts inside Crew Dragon Endeavour shortly after splashdown and being lifted aboard missing name

Notes

  1. ↑ From an orbital dynamics perspective, the forward port is easier to approach, and therefore, new vehicles use this approach for their first docking. The Boeing Starliner Spacecraft 3 Calypso was scheduled to make its first docking to the ISS during the Boeing Crew Flight Test in June 2024; therefore, Crew-8 relocated to the zenith port to clear the forward port for Boe-CFT.

References

  1. ↑ "Crew-8 Launch to Dock Summary Timeline" (in en-US). https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/crew-8-launch-to-dock-summary-timeline-0304.pdf?emrc=cc9091. 
  2. ↑ Parra, Marissa; Cohen, Rebecca (March 4, 2024). "SpaceX, NASA successfully launch manned Crew-8 mission to International Space Station". NBC News (Cape Canaveral, Florida). https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/spacex-nasa-successfully-launch-manned-crew-8-mission-international-sp-rcna141584. 
  3. ↑ "Crew-8 Mission Overview". National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). n.d.. https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/crew-8-mission-overview-final.pdf. "Crew-8 will dock to the forward-facing port of the Harmony module" 
  4. ↑ "What You Need to Know about NASA's SpaceX Crew-8 Mission – NASA" (in en-US). January 26, 2024. https://www.nasa.gov/missions/station/commercial-crew/what-you-need-to-know-about-nasas-spacex-crew-8-mission/. 
  5. ↑ "NASA Astronaut from Syracuse is ready for liftoff" (in en). January 30, 2024. https://www.wxxinews.org/local-news/2024-01-30/nasa-astronaut-from-syracuse-is-ready-for-liftoff. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Stich, Steve (August 24, 2024). NASA's Boeing Crew Flight Test Status News Conference. NASA. Event occurs at 1:22:00. Retrieved August 25, 2024 – via YouTube.
  7. ↑ O'Shea, Claire A. (August 5, 2023). "Space Station Assignments Out for NASA's SpaceX Crew-8 Mission". https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/space-station-assignments-out-for-nasa-s-spacex-crew-8-mission. 
  8. ↑ "NASA, SpaceX Target NET Feb. 22 to Launch Crew-8 – NASA's SpaceX Crew-8 Mission" (in en-US). January 31, 2024. https://blogs.nasa.gov/crew-8/2024/01/31/nasa-spacex-target-net-feb-22-to-launch-crew-8/. 
  9. ↑ "NASA's SpaceX Crew-8". https://www.nasa.gov/event/nasas-spacex-crew-8-launch/. 
  10. ↑ SpaceX [@SpaceX]. "50 crewmembers launched and counting! Earlier tonight, Crew-8 signed the White Room at the end of the crew access arm ahead of boarding Dragon and liftoff". https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1764503795965567106.  Missing or empty |date= (help)
  11. ↑ Malik, Tariq (February 28, 2024). "SpaceX delays Crew-8 astronaut launch for NASA to March 2 due to bad weather". Space.com. https://www.space.com/spacex-crew-8-astronaut-launch-delay-march-2-2024. 
  12. ↑ NASA Commercial Crew [@Commercial_Crew] (February 29, 2024). "Teams with @NASA and @SpaceX now are targeting March 2 for the launch of the agency's #Crew8 mission to @Space_Station due to unfavorable weather conditions in offshore areas along the flight track of the Dragon spacecraft" (in en). https://twitter.com/Commercial_Crew/status/1763078294931468399. 
  13. ↑ Malik, Tariq (March 3, 2024). "SpaceX delays Crew-8 astronaut launch for NASA due to high winds, next try on March 3". Space.com. https://www.space.com/spacex-crew-8-astronaut-launch-weather-scrub. 
  14. ↑ Neale, Rick; Haris, Bianca (March 2, 2024). "NASA SpaceX launch: Crew-8's mission from Cape Canaveral scrubbed over weather conditions". USA Today. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2024/03/02/nasa-spacex-launch-watch/72823339007/. 
  15. ↑ Wall, Mike (May 2, 2024). "SpaceX's Crew-8 astronauts move Dragon at the ISS to make way for Boeing's Starliner". Future US, Inc.. https://www.space.com/spacex-crew-8-dragon-relocation-iss. "Endeavour autonomously docked with Harmony's space-facing port, Zenith, at 9:46 a.m. EDT (1346 GMT)." 
  16. ↑ Foust, Jeff (June 6, 2024). "Starliner docks with International Space Station on crewed test flight". https://spacenews.com/starliner-docks-with-international-space-station-on-crewed-test-flight/. 
  17. ↑ Garcia, Mark (September 4, 2024). "Crew Studies Space Effects on Humans, Prepares Spaceships for Departure" (in en-US). https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/2024/09/04/crew-studies-space-effects-on-humans-prepares-spaceships-for-departure/. 
  18. ↑ Wulfeck, Andrew (October 19, 2024). "SpaceX’s Crew-8 prepare to depart space station after weeks of weather delays" (in en-US). https://www.foxweather.com/earth-space/spacex-crew-status-weather. 
  19. ↑ Taveau, Jessica (October 25, 2024). "Back on Earth: NASA’s SpaceX Crew-8 Mission Splashes Down Off Florida" (in en-US). https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/back-on-earth-nasas-spacex-crew-8-mission-splashes-down-off-florida/. 
  20. ↑ Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel Annual Report 2024 (Report). NASA Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel. January 25, 2025. p. 18. https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/asap-2024-annual-report-web.pdf?emrc=67ac146a6b79e. 
  21. ↑ Garcia, Mark (October 25, 2024). "NASA Provides Update on Agency’s SpaceX Crew-8 Health" (in en-US). https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/2024/10/25/nasa-provides-update-on-agencys-spacex-crew-8-health/. 
  22. ↑ Clark, Stephen (October 25, 2024). "Astronaut released from hospital after “medical issue” upon return from space" (in en-US). https://arstechnica.com/space/2024/10/astronaut-hospitalized-after-returning-from-235-day-space-mission/. 




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