Crew-2

Robert S. Kimbrough

• Birthday: 06/04/1967
• Role: Spacecraft Commander
• Nationality: American
• First Flight: 11/15/2008
• Last Flight: 04/23/2021

Robert Shane Kimbrough is a retired United States Army officer, and a NASA astronaut. He was part of the first group of candidates selected for NASA astronaut training following the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster. Kimbrough is a veteran of two spaceflights, the first being a Space Shuttle flight, and the second being a 6-month mission to the ISS on board a Russian Soyuz craft. He was the commander of the International Space Station for Expedition 50 and later spent 6 months on the ISS as part of the SpaceX Crew-2 mission. He retired from NASA on July 31, 2022.

K. Megan McArthur

• Birthday: 08/30/1971
• Role: Pilot
• Nationality: American
• First Flight: 05/11/2009
• Last Flight: 04/23/2021

Katherine Megan McArthur is an American oceanographer and a National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) astronaut. She has served as a Capsule Communicator (CAPCOM) for both the space shuttle and space station. Megan McArthur has flown one space shuttle mission, STS-125. She is known as the last person to be hands on with the Hubble Space Telescope (although she was not actually “hands on” since she was using the robotic arm at the time). McArthur has served in a number of positions including working in the Shuttle Avionics Laboratory (SAIL). She is married to fellow astronaut Robert L. Behnken.

Thomas Pesquet

• Birthday: 02/27/1978
• Role: Mission Specialist
• Nationality: French
• First Flight: 11/17/2016
• Last Flight: 04/23/2021

Thomas Gautier Pesquet is a French aerospace engineer, pilot, and European Space Agency astronaut. Pesquet was selected by ESA as a candidate in May 2009, and he successfully completed his basic training in November 2010. From November 2016 to June 2017, Pesquet was part of Expeditions 50 and 51 on the International Space Station as a flight engineer.

Akihiko Hoshide

• Birthday: 12/28/1968
• Role: Mission Specialist
• Nationality: Japanese
• First Flight: 05/31/2008
• Last Flight: 04/23/2021

Akihiko Hoshide is a Japanese engineer and JAXA astronaut. On August 30, 2012, Hoshide became the third Japanese astronaut to walk in space. His space selfies from 2012, including another space selfie that was posted on Instagram, appeared at the top of many selfie lists of 2013.

Launch Complex 39A

Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA

Launch Complex 39A has witnessed the launch of 175 rockets, including 174 orbital launch attempts, while Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA, has been the site for 233 rocket launches.

SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5

Falcon 9 is a two-stage rocket designed and manufactured by SpaceX for the reliable and safe transport of satellites and the Dragon spacecraft into orbit. The Block 5 variant is the fifth major interval aimed at improving upon the ability for rapid reusability.

Core B1061

Booster B1061 last launched 02/23/2024 and has seen 19 successful launches and landings. Booster which launched Crew-1, Crew-2 and IXPE.

Of Course I Still Love You – OCISLY

The second ASDS barge, Of Course I Still Love You (OCISLY) services launches in the Pacific Ocean and was the site of the first landing of a SpaceX Falcon 9 first stage during CRS-8, the launch of a Dragon spacecraft to the International Space Station.

Autonomous Spaceport Drone Ship – ASDS

An autonomous spaceport drone ship (ASDS) is an ocean-going vessel derived from a deck barge, outfitted with station-keeping engines and a large landing platform. Construction of such ships was commissioned by aerospace company SpaceX to allow for recovery of rocket first-stages at sea for high-velocity missions which do not carry enough fuel to return to the launch site after lofting spacecraft onto an orbital trajectory.

SpaceX

Space Exploration Technologies Corp., known as SpaceX, is an American aerospace manufacturer and space transport services company headquartered in Hawthorne, California. It was founded in 2002 by entrepreneur Elon Musk with the goal of reducing space transportation costs and enabling the colonization of Mars. SpaceX operates from many pads, on the East Coast of the US they operate from SLC-40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and historic LC-39A at Kennedy Space Center. They also operate from SLC-4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, usually for polar launches. Another launch site is being developed at Boca Chica, Texas.