NASA’s SpaceX Crew-4 Astronauts Arrive at Florida Spaceport for Final Preparations Before Launch

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-4 Astronauts Arrive at Florida Spaceport

Crew members for NASA’s SpaceX Crew-4 mission to the International Space Station arrive at the Launch and Landing Facility at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on April 18, 2022. From left, are NASA astronauts Jessica Watkins, Kjell Lindgren and Bob Hines, and Samantha Cristoforetti, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut. The crew will enter quarantine at the center’s astronaut crew quarters as they await launch aboard SpaceX’s Crew Dragon and Falcon 9 rocket. Launch is targeted for 5:26 a.m. EDT on April 23, 2022, from Launch Complex 39A. Crew-4 is the fourth crew rotation flight to the space station as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. Credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

The astronauts who will launch this week (Saturday, April 23, 2022) to the International Space Station as part of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-4 mission arrived yesterday, April 18, at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida to undergo final preparations before launch.

NASA astronauts Kjell Lindgren, Robert Hines, and Jessica Watkins, and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti, landed at the Launch and Landing Facility at Kennedy after departing earlier today from Ellington Field near the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.

NASA SpaceX Crew-4 Astronauts Kennedy Space Center

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-4 astronauts participate in a training session at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. From left to right: NASA astronaut and SpaceX Crew-4 mission specialist Jessica Watkins; NASA astronaut and SpaceX Crew-4 pilot Robert “Bob” Hines; NASA astronaut and SpaceX Crew-4 commander Kjell Lindgren; and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut and Crew-4 mission specialist Samantha Cristoforetti of Italy. Credit: NASA

The crew was greeted by leaders from NASA and ESA, and a media event began shortly after their arrival. Participants included:

  • KSC Center Director Janet Petro
  • Kathy Lueders, NASA associate administrator, space operations
  • Barbara Nucera, ESA Houston team leader
  • NASA astronaut Kjell Lindgren
  • NASA astronaut Bob Hines
  • NASA astronaut Jessica Watkins
  • ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti

Crew-4 astronauts are scheduled to lift off at 5:26 a.m. EDT on Saturday, April 23, aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket from Kennedy’s Launch Complex 39A. They are slated to arrive at the space station the following day, where they will begin their science mission aboard the orbiting laboratory. Docking is targeted for around 6:00 a.m. EDT on Sunday, April 24.

This is the fourth crew rotation flight for the agency’s Commercial Crew Program.

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