NASA SpaceX’s Crew-2 astronauts say goodbye to their families outside of the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on April 23, 2021. NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur, ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet, and JAXA astronaut Akihiko Hoshide will then board two Tesla vehicles for the trip to Kennedy’s Launch Complex 39A. Crew-2 is the second regular crew mission of a U.S. commercial spacecraft with astronauts to the International Space Station as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. The SpaceX Crew Dragon Endeavour will launch atop the company’s Falcon 9 rocket from Pad 39A to the space station for a six-month science mission.
AstronautsCCPCommercial Crew ProgramCrew-2ESAESA astronaut Thomas PesquetEndeavourEuropean Space AgencyISSInternational Space StationJAXAJAXA astronaut Akihiko HoshideJSCJapan Aerospace Exploration AgencyJohnson Space CenterKSCKennedy Space CenterLC-39ALaunch Complex 39ANASANASA astronaut Megan McArthurNASA astronaut Shane KimbroughSpaceXSpaceX Crew Dragon SpacecraftSpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket