Robert L. Ohlson Robert L. Ohlson 
SpaceX’s Crew-4 astronauts have completed their final preparations for their mission to the International Space Station next month. SpaceX Crew-4 astronauts are preparing for their upcoming flight to the International Space Station (ISS) in the next month. Chris Ferguson, Anne McClain, Oleg Kononenko, and Jessica Meir are the four astronauts selected to fly on the Crew Dragon spacecraft. This will be the first crewed mission for SpaceX and will mark the return of human spaceflight to American soil after eight years.
Kjell Lindgren and Bob Hines of NASA, Jessica Watkins and Samantha Cristoforetti from ESA (European Space Agency), are set to launch on Friday, April 15, aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft, atop a Falcon 9 rocket, from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Since December, the SpaceX Crew-4 astronauts have been preparing for their next month’s flight to the ISS. This will be the first manned mission for SpaceX in over 2 years, and the astronauts are eager to get back into space. They have been doing extensive training in both Houston and Moscow, and they are confident that they are ready for anything that may come up.
Although Lindgren and Cristoforetti both have been to space before the Crew-4 mission will be the first for Hines or Watkins.
Crew members have been practicing for the upcoming mission at SpaceX Headquarters in Hawthorne (California) and at Kennedy Space Center.
Preparations include simulations aboard the Crew Dragon simulator, which features flight-realistic displays, hardware, and seats.
Crew Dragon training involves not only learning routine tasks but also how to handle unexpected situations on the spacecraft, such as system failures.
“Commander Lindgren, pilot Hines, took their seats in the middle seats. They have access to flight displays that they can use to monitor the status of the spacecraft and, if necessary, take manual control.” NASA stated.
They also took a ride on SpaceX’s Dragon recovery ship, which will be used to pick up the astronauts after the splashdown. The astronauts also got a tour of the SpaceX hangar, where Falcon 9 reusable rockets are being refurbished and ready for flight.
April’s Crew-4 mission will be 20 months after SpaceX’s first crewed flight, which saw NASA astronauts Doug Hurley & Bob Behnken fly the Crew Dragon spacecraft from Earth to the station in the Demo-2 test mission.
After the successful maiden mission, SpaceX sent four Crew-1 crew members to the ISS in November 2020 for a six-month stay.
Space X Crew-4 astronauts are preparing for their next month’s flight to the ISS. The astronauts, who will be the first to launch from American soil in over 7 years, have been training hard for the last few months. They are looking forward to the challenge of spaceflight and are excited to be a part of history.
