BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. — The astronauts for SpaceX's Crew-3 mission have arrived on the Space Coast to gear up for this weekend's launch.
What You Need To Know
- SpaceX's Crew-3 mission set to launch Oct. 1 from Kennedy Space Center
- The crew arrived on the Space Coast Tuesday to gear up for the weekend launch
- Astronauts will spend six months on the ISS conducting scientific research and a series of spacewalks
NASA astronauts Raja Chari, Tom Marshburn and Kayla Barron, along with ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer landed at Kennedy Space Center on Tuesday afternoon.
The four astronauts are ready for their mission to the International Space Station on board a brand new SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft named Endurance.
The name represents the team's work during the pandemic and those who will follow and fly long-duration missions using the capsule.
Chari will serve as commander, Marshburn will be the pilot, while Barron and Maurer will serve as mission specialists.
The crew will join the Crew-2 astronauts who launched to the ISS earlier this year.
They'll spend six months on board the station, conducting scientific research in the fields of health and plant science, as well as studying the effects of microgravity to benefit people on Earth.
"I really like bringing technology that is used to study ourselves, forward into the future, accelerate it, make it more common, and brings better medical care on the ground as well," Marshburn said.
Crew-3 will also conduct a series of spacewalks to upgrade the ISS solar arrays to increase the orbiting outpost's power supply.
The launch is set for 2:21 a.m. Oct. 31 from Pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center.
If also goes well the capsule will dock with the station just after midnight on Nov. 1.