View source for Engineering:SpaceX Crew-6

{{Short description|2023 American crewed spaceflight to the ISS}}
{{Infobox spaceflight
| name               = SpaceX Crew-6
| names_list         = USCV-6
| image              = Iss068e067203.jpeg
| image_caption      = Crew Dragon ''[[Engineering:Crew Dragon Endeavour|Endeavour]]'' approaches the [[Astronomy:International Space Station|International Space Station (ISS)]] with the Crew-6 astronauts onboard.
| image_size         = 300px
| mission_type       = ISS crew transport
| operator           = [[Company:SpaceX|SpaceX]]
| COSPAR_ID          = <!-- Wikidata fills in -->
| SATCAT             = <!-- Wikidata fills in -->
| website            = 
| mission_duration   = {{time interval|2 March 2023 05:34|4 September 2023 04:17|show=dhm}}
| spacecraft         = {{ComV|Dragon 2|Endeavour}}
| spacecraft_type    = [[Engineering:SpaceX Dragon 2|Crew Dragon]]
| manufacturer       = SpaceX
| launch_mass        = {{cvt|12519|kg}}
| landing_mass       = {{cvt|9616|kg}}
| crew_size          = 4
| crew_members       = {{Ubl|Stephen Bowen|[[Biography:Warren Hoburg|Warren Hoburg]]|Sultan Al Neyadi}}Andrey Fedyaev
| crew_landing       = 
| crew_expedition    = 
| launch_date        = 2 March 2023, 05:34:14 UTC<ref name="sfn_ls" /><ref name="NASA_new_launch_time" /><ref name="Spacecom_planned_launch_time" />
| launch_rocket      = [[Engineering:Falcon 9 Block 5|Falcon 9 Block 5]] [[Engineering:List of Falcon 9 first-stage boosters#B1078|(B1078.1)]]
| launch_site        = Kennedy Space Center, [[Astronomy:Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39A|LC-39A]]
| launch_contractor  = [[Company:SpaceX|SpaceX]]
| recovery_by        = [[Engineering:Megan (ship)|Megan (ship)]]
| landing_date       = 4 September 2023, 04:17 UTC 
| landing_site       = [[Earth:Atlantic Ocean|Atlantic Ocean]]
| orbit_reference    = [[Astronomy:Geocentric orbit|Geocentric orbit]]
| orbit_regime       = [[Astronomy:Low Earth orbit|Low Earth orbit]]
| orbit_inclination  = 51.66°
| apsis              = gee
| docking            = {{Infobox spaceflight/Dock
  | docking_target   = [[Astronomy:International Space Station|ISS]]
  | docking_type     = Dock
  | docking_port     = ''Harmony'' zenith
  | docking_date     = 3 March 2023, 06:40 UTC
  | undocking_date   = 6 May 2023, 11:23 UTC
  | time_docked      = {{time interval|3 March 2023 06:40|6 May 2023 11:23|show=dhm}}
 }}
{{Infobox spaceflight/Dock
   | docking_target  = [[Astronomy:International Space Station|ISS]] (Relocation)
   | docking_type    = dock
   | docking_port    = ''Harmony'' forward
   | docking_date    = 6 May 2023, 12:01 UTC
   | undocking_date  = 3 September 2023, 11:05 UTC
   | time_docked     = {{time interval|6 May 2023 12:01|3 September 2023 11:05|show=dhm}}
}}
| insignia           = SpaceX Crew-6 logo.png
| insignia_caption   = SpaceX Crew-6 mission patch
| insignia_size      = 200px
| crew_photo         = SpaceX crew 6 crew portrait.png
| crew_photo_caption = (L-R) Al Neyadi, Hoburg, Bowen and Fedyaev
| crew_photo_size    = 300px
| programme          = '''[[Astronomy:Commercial Crew Program|Commercial Crew Program]]'''
| previous_mission   = [[Engineering:SpaceX Crew-5|SpaceX Crew-5]]
| next_mission       = [[Engineering:SpaceX Crew-7|SpaceX Crew-7]]
| programme2         = '''[[Engineering:SpaceX Dragon 2#Crew Dragon flights|Crew Dragon flights]]'''
| previous_mission2  = [[Engineering:SpaceX Crew-5|SpaceX Crew-5]]
| next_mission2      = [[Astronomy:Axiom Mission 2|Axiom Mission 2]]
}}

'''SpaceX Crew-6''' was the sixth crewed operational NASA [[Astronomy:Commercial Crew Program|Commercial Crew]] flight of a [[Engineering:SpaceX Dragon 2|Crew Dragon]] spacecraft, and the ninth overall crewed orbital flight. The mission launched on 2 March 2023 at 05:34:14 UTC, and it successfully docked to the [[Astronomy:International Space Station|International Space Station]] (ISS) on 3 March 2023 at 06:40 UTC. The Crew-6 mission transported four crew members to the International Space Station (ISS). Two NASA astronauts, a [[Place:United Arab Emirates|United Arab Emirates]] astronaut, and a Russian cosmonaut were assigned to the mission. The two NASA astronauts are Stephen Bowen and [[Biography:Warren Hoburg|Warren Hoburg]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Potter|first=Sean|title=Two Astronauts Receive Assignments for NASA's SpaceX Crew-6 Mission|url=http://www.nasa.gov/press-release/two-astronauts-receive-assignments-for-nasa-s-spacex-crew-6-mission|publisher=NASA|date=2021-12-16|access-date=2021-12-17}} {{PD-notice}}</ref> The cosmonaut, Andrey Fedyaev, was reassigned from [[Engineering:Soyuz MS-23|Soyuz MS-23]]. Sultan Al Neyadi was the Commander of the United Arab Emirates' mission on the flight.

== Crew ==
On 24 March 2022 the [[Organization:European Space Agency|European Space Agency]] announced that Danish astronaut Andreas Mogensen will serve as backup pilot.<ref>{{cite tweet |author=Human Spaceflight |user=esaspaceflight |number=1506922535010684929 |date=24 March 2022 |title=@YannickJungman3 @Astro_Andreas @Space_Station @SpaceX @esa @UFM_MIN @DTUtweet @AschbacherJosef Pilot for Crew-7, and backup pilot for Crew-6. More in the article here: https://t.co/LZhraeIRA7 |language=en |access-date=25 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221015231457/https://twitter.com/esaspaceflight/status/1506922535010684929 |archive-date=15 October 2022 |url-status=live}}</ref> On 29 April 2022, the [[Engineering:Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre|Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre]] (MBRSC) and [[Company:Axiom Space|Axiom Space]] announced that Crew-6 will also include an astronaut from the [[Place:United Arab Emirates|United Arab Emirates]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.thenationalnews.com/uae/science/2022/04/29/emirati-astronaut-set-for-six-month-mission-to-international-space-station/|title=Emirati astronaut set for six-month mission to International Space Station|date=2022-04-29|accessdate=2022-04-29}}</ref>

[[Engineering:Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre|MBRSC]] participation in this mission resulted from a 2021 agreement between NASA and Axiom to fly a NASA astronaut, Mark T. Vande Hei, onboard [[Engineering:Soyuz MS-18|Soyuz MS-18]] (launch) and [[Engineering:Soyuz MS-19|Soyuz MS-19]] (return) in order to ensure a continuing American presence on board the ISS. In return, Axiom received the rights to a NASA owned seat onboard SpaceX Crew-6. Axiom provided the flight opportunity to MBRSC professional crew members through an agreement with the [[Organization:United Arab Emirates Space Agency|United Arab Emirates Space Agency]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.axiomspace.com/news/axiom-space-and-mbrsc-uae-astronaut|title=Axiom Space and the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Center Sign Agreement for UAE Astronaut to Fly on the ISS in 2023|date=2022-04-29|accessdate=2022-04-29}}</ref> Later, the astronaut was confirmed to be Sultan Al Neyadi.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.khaleejtimes.com/uae/uae-sultan-al-neyadi-to-be-first-arab-astronaut-to-spend-6-months-on-iss|title=UAE's Sultan Al Neyadi to be first Arab astronaut to spend 6 months on ISS|date=2022-07-25|accessdate=2022-07-25}}</ref>

Andrey Fedyaev was selected in July 2022 for this mission as a part of the Soyuz-Dragon crew swap system of keeping at least one NASA astronaut and one Roscosmos cosmonaut on each of the crew rotation missions.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/15/tech/spacex-russia-nasa-ride-share-agreement-scn/index.html |title=SpaceX rockets to fly Russian cosmonauts with new NASA deal |last1=Wattles |first1=Jackie|last2=Pavlova|first2=Uliana |date=July 15, 2022 |website=CNN.com |publisher=CNN |access-date=July 16, 2022 |quote=Andrei Fedyaev will fly on another SpaceX mission in the spring of 2023, according to NASA.}}</ref> This ensures both countries 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.<ref name="Rogozin">{{cite web|url=https://spacenews.com/rogozin-says-crew-dragon-safe-for-russian-cosmonauts/|title=Rogozin says Crew Dragon safe for Russian cosmonauts |publisher=SpaceNews|date=2021-10-26|access-date=17 December 2021}}</ref>
{{Spaceflight crew
| crew           = prime
| terminology    = Astronaut

| position1      = Spacecraft commander
| crew1_up       = {{Flagicon|USA}} Stephen Bowen
| flights1_up    = Fourth
| agency1_up     = [[Organization:NASA|NASA]]
| expedition1_up = [[Astronomy:Expedition 68|Expedition 68]] / [[Astronomy:Expedition 69|69]]

| position2      = Pilot
| crew2_up       = {{Flagicon|USA}} [[Biography:Warren Hoburg|Warren Hoburg]]
| flights2_up    = First
| agency2_up     = [[Organization:NASA|NASA]]
| expedition2_up = [[Astronomy:Expedition 68|Expedition 68]] / [[Astronomy:Expedition 69|69]]

| position3      = Mission Specialist 1
| crew3_up       = {{flagicon|UAE}} Sultan Al Neyadi
| flights3_up    = First
| agency3_up     = [[Engineering:Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre|MBRSC]]
| expedition3_up = [[Astronomy:Expedition 68|Expedition 68]] / [[Astronomy:Expedition 69|69]]

| position4      = Mission Specialist 2 
| crew4_up       = {{flagicon|RUS}} Andrey Fedyaev 
| agency4_up     = [[Company:Roscosmos|Roscosmos]] 
| flights4_up    = First
| expedition4_up = [[Astronomy:Expedition 68|Expedition 68]] / [[Astronomy:Expedition 69|69]]

}}

{{Spaceflight crew
| crew           = backup
| terminology    = Astronaut

| position1      = Spacecraft commander
| crew1_up       = {{Flagicon|USA}} Jasmin Moghbeli
| agency1_up     = [[Organization:NASA|NASA]]

| position2      = Pilot
| crew2_up       = {{Flagicon|DEN}} Andreas Mogensen
| agency2_up     = ESA

| position3      = Mission Specialist 1
| crew3_up       = {{flagicon|UAE}} Hazza Al Mansouri<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.zawya.com/en/business/technology-and-telecom/uaes-first-astronaut-to-serve-as-backup-on-sultan-al-neyadis-6-month-mission-to-iss-x89gk88p|title=UAE's first astronaut to serve as backup on Sultan Al Neyadi's 6-month mission to ISS|publisher=Zawya|date=25 September 2022}}</ref>
| agency3_up     = [[Engineering:Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre|MBRSC]]

|crew4_up={{flagicon|RUS}} Konstantin Borisov|position4=Mission Specialist 2|agency4_up=[[Company:Roscosmos|Roscosmos]]}}

== Mission ==
The sixth SpaceX operational mission in the [[Astronomy:Commercial Crew Program|Commercial Crew Program]] (CCP) was launched on 2 March 2023 and lasted approximately six months.  The mission was scheduled to launch early on 27 February 2023.  However, the initial attempt was scrubbed and rescheduled for 2 March 2023, at 5:34&nbsp;am UTC.<ref name="sfn_ls">{{cite web |last=Clark |first=Stephen |date=13 January 2023 |title=Launch Schedule |url=https://spaceflightnow.com/launch-schedule/ |access-date=13 January 2023 |work=Spaceflight Now}}</ref><ref name="NASA_new_launch_time">{{cite web |last=Cawley |first=James |date=27 February 2023 |title=NASA, SpaceX Look to March 2 for Next Available Crew-6 Launch Attempt |url=https://blogs.nasa.gov/crew-6/2023/02/27/nasa-spacex-look-to-march-2-for-next-available-crew-6-launch-attempt/ |access-date=27 February 2023 |website=NASA |quote=...&nbsp;NASA and SpaceX will forgo a launch opportunity on Tuesday, Feb. 28, due to unfavorable weather forecast conditions. The next available launch attempt is at 12:34 a.m. EST Thursday, March 2, pending resolution of the technical issue preventing Monday's launch.&nbsp;...}}</ref><ref name="Spacecom_planned_launch_time">{{cite web |last=Wall |first=Mike |date=27 February 2023 |title=SpaceX scrubs Crew-6 astronaut launch due to ignition-fluid issue |url=https://www.space.com/spacex-crew-6-astronaut-launch-scrub |access-date=27 February 2023 |website=Space.com |quote=...&nbsp;The next launch opportunity comes on Thursday (March 2) at 12:34 a.m. EST (0534 GMT); weather on Tuesday (Feb. 28), the first possible opportunity before that, is not favorable for launch&nbsp;...}}</ref>  The second launch attempt was successful.

Alongside Crew-6, the Dragon capsule is designed to be able to bring back the [[Engineering:Soyuz MS-22|Soyuz MS-22]] crew if necessary, serving as an emergency evacuation, as was [[Engineering:SpaceX Crew-5|Crew-5]]. [[Company:Roscosmos|Roscosmos]] elected to launch [[Engineering:Soyuz MS-23|Soyuz MS-23]] without a crew to return the MS-22 crew instead of using this capability.<ref>{{cite AV media |date=25 January 2023 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5OCET6AMDsQ |title=Expedition 68 NASA's SpaceX Crew-6 Leaders Discuss Mission - Jan. 25, 2023 |publisher=NASA Video |via=[[Company:YouTube|YouTube]] |access-date=25 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230214184110/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5OCET6AMDsQ |archive-date=14 February 2023 |url-status=live}}</ref>

===Launch attempt===
The first launch attempt was scrubbed at T−02:12 minutes due to an issue with the TEA-[[Chemistry:Triethylborane|TEB]] spontaneous ignition fluid.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Shortly before liftoff, SpaceX cancels a crew launch due to igniter issues – Ars Technica |date=27 February 2023 |url=https://arstechnica.com/science/2023/02/spacex-scrubs-crew-6-launch-due-to-an-issue-with-its-igniter-fluid/ |access-date=2023-02-27 |language=en-US}}</ref> (times are [[UTC]])
{{LaunchAttempt
| date1           = 2023-02-27, 06:45:03 UTC
| result1         = Scrubbed
| reason1         = TEA-TEB ignitor issue
| decision_date1  = 2023-02-27, 06:43
| decision_clock1 =-00:02:12 
| weathergo1      = 95<ref>{{cite tweet |author=NASA Commercial Crew |user=Commercial_Crew |number=1630081811438026752 |date=27 February 2023 |title=Weather officials with the Cape Canaveral @SpaceForceDoD 45th Weather Squadron continue to predict a 95% chance of favorable weather conditions for launch. |language=en |access-date=25 March 2023}}</ref>
| notes1          = Rocket launch failure risk (wrong ignition or premature engine cutoff)
| date2           = 2023-03-02, 05:34:14 UTC
| result2         = Success
}}

== Gallery ==
{{Gallery
| title        = SpaceX Crew-6
| align        = center
| footer       = 
| style        = text-align:center;
| mode         = packed
|NASA’s SpaceX Crew-6 Launch - Astronauts walkout at O&C (KSC-20230301-PH-KLS02 0043).jpeg| alt1=
 |Crew-6 astronauts prior to launch|NASA's SpaceX Crew-6 Live Launch Coverage (KSC-20230301-PH-FMX01 0005).jpeg| alt2=
 |Crew-6 launch|Iss068e067206.jpeg| alt3=
 | Crew-6 approaching the ISS || alt4=
 || alt5=
 | alt6=
 }}

== References ==
{{notelist}}
{{Reflist|30em}}

{{Manned ISS flights}}
{{Dragon spaceflights}}
{{Falcon rocket launches}}

[[Category:SpaceX Dragon 2]]
[[Category:SpaceX payloads contracted by NASA]]
[[Category:SpaceX human spaceflights]]

{{Sourceattribution|SpaceX Crew-6}}