NASA and SpaceX are hoping to get off to a good start in 2024 with their next crewed mission to the International Space Station (ISS) launching in February. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) confirmed a launch date of "no earlier than" mid-February in a certification announcement inviting media members to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida to watch the launch of the Falcon 9 and Crew Dragon spacecraft.
Kennedy Space Center is the only space launch site in the United States capable of launching astronauts to the International Space Station and deeper into space. If NASA can complete the Artemis 2 mission as scheduled, the Kennedy Space Center itself will also usher in greater success. Artemis 2 will be the first time NASA has sent astronauts to the moon since the Apollo program.
The latest schedule for the Crew-8 mission is a follow-up to NASA's December update, which had the same schedule. As the Starlink program has proven, SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket is also the workhorse of U.S. manned space missions. It is currently the only manned rocket in the United States that can carry astronauts to the International Space Station. Although the SLS built by Boeing for Artemis will send astronauts to the moon, Falcon 9 will likely maintain a faster speed to perform missions closer to the International Space Station.
Along with spacecraft operated by the Russian and Chinese space agencies, the Crew Dragon is one of the few spacecraft in the world that can perform missions to the International Space Station in low Earth orbit (LEO). The Crew-8 team will have three astronauts fly into space for the first time this time. Only NASA astronaut Michael Barratt has flown into space twice before. NASA Crew-8 mission astronauts are training for their mission, scheduled to launch in early February 2024.
The crew will complete a full mission on the International Space Station. Under SpaceX's Crew Dragon program, the same crew is usually launched from and lands on Earth, and a full duration mission typically lasts six months. For Crew-8, this means the mission will end at the end of August. A standard Crew Dragon mission to the ISS would also allow the next crew to arrive at the station before their predecessors depart. The same is true for Crew-8. They will complete the work handover with Crew 9 in August 2024, and then enter the spacecraft to prepare for landing.
In addition, Crew-8 will be launched in mid-February, which also means it can be launched during the same period as Astrobotic's "Peregrine" lunar lander makes its first landing attempt. The Peregrine Falcon is scheduled to launch from Cape Canaveral Space Station on Monday, carrying an additional 20 payloads. Five of them are NASA payloads for the first commercial lunar lander in the United States, with a landing date set for February 23.
The Crew-8 mission will mark the ninth successful crewed mission to the International Space Station by NASA and SpaceX. Although the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has awarded contracts to Boeing and SpaceX to send crews to the space station, only SpaceX has successfully obtained NASA certification and successfully completed operational flights.