NASA, SpaceX Invite Media to Next Commercial Crew Launch

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Mar 05, 2021, 16:09 ET

WASHINGTON, March 5, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Media accreditation is now open for NASA's SpaceX Crew-2 mission to the International Space Station. This is the second crew rotation flight with astronauts on the Crew Dragon spacecraft and the first launch with two international partners as part of the agency's Commercial Crew Program.

The launch, on a Falcon 9 rocket, is targeted for no earlier than Thursday, April 22, from Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

NASA's SpaceX Crew-2 mission will carry NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough and  Megan McArthur – who will serve as the mission's spacecraft commander and pilot, respectively – along with JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Akihiko Hoshide and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Thomas Pesquet, who will serve as mission specialists. 

After successfully docking at the space station, the astronauts of Crew-2 will join the Expedition 65 crew aboard the orbital outpost, including the Crew-1 astronauts still aboard. The Crew-1 astronauts are targeted for return in late April or early May.

Media accreditation deadlines for Crew-2 are as follows (all times Eastern):

International media without U.S. citizenship must apply by 4 p.m. Monday, March 15.
U.S. media must apply by 4 p.m. Monday, March 22.

All accreditation requests should be submitted online at:

https://media.ksc.nasa.gov

NASA continues to monitor developments related to the coronavirus pandemic, and Kennedy will grant access to only a limited number of media to protect the health and safety of media and employees. Due to COVID-19 safety restrictions at Kennedy, international media coming from overseas must follow quarantine requirements.

NASA will follow guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the agency's chief health and medical officer and will immediately communicate any updates that may affect media access for this launch.

For questions about media accreditation, email [email protected]. For other questions, contact Kennedy's newsroom at 321-867-2468.

Reporters with special logistics requests for Kennedy, such as space for satellite trucks, trailers, tents, electrical connections, or workspaces, must contact Jerry Bernfeld at [email protected] by Monday, March 22.

NASA's Commercial Crew Program is working with the American aerospace industry through a public-private partnership to launch astronauts on American rockets and spacecraft from American soil. The goal of the program is to provide safe, reliable, and cost-effective transportation to and from the space station, which will allow for additional research time and will increase the opportunity for discovery aboard humanity's testbed for exploration. The space station remains the springboard to NASA's next great leap in space exploration, including future missions to the Moon and eventually to Mars.

For launch coverage and more information about the mission, visit:

https://www.nasa.gov/commercialcrew

SOURCE NASA