SpaceX launching Next American crew to ISS takes off on Monday
'Crew-6' will spend six months in space; Emirati and Russian are on the team
The United States and NASA has completed crew preparation for the Crew Dragon C206 Endeavor spacecraft(mission Crew-6, USCV-6) with the participation of a cosmonaut from Roscosmos and one from the UAE space agency for launch on the ISS. The new Falcon 9 B1078 rocket's final static ignition tests were conducted at Cape Canaveral Spaceport in Florida prior to launch to the International Space Station (ISS) on February 27. SpaceX reported: "Falcon 9 static firing tests ahead of the next Crew-6 mission to the ISS have been completed," the statement said. At the same time, it is indicated that the spacecraft's crew also "completed a full development of actions on launch day". According to SpaceX, the rocket, along with the spacecraft, was installed on the Kennedy Space Center platform. The crew includes American astronauts Stephen Bowen and Woody Hoburg, UAE astronaut Sultan Al-Neyadi and Russian cosmonaut Andrei Fedyaev. The launch will take place on February 27 at Launch Complex 39A at 01:45 ET (03:45 ET). It is planned that in total the crew will spend six months on the station. The weather forecast calls for 95% to 90% clear weather for the 27th, and a reserve opportunity is available on Tuesday, February 28th at 01:22 EST (06:22 UTC, 09:22 Moscow, 10:22 Gulf Time).
The rocket's first stage is expected to land on the SpaceX's Just Read the Instructions (JRTI that will be stationed at the planned recovery position 550 km off the coast of Florida. Meanwhile, the support and recovery ship Megan will be on standby in the ocean for a possible rescue operation in the event of a breakdown in the initial flight phase.