A little while ago, SpaceX’s Crew Dragon Freedom spacecraft blasted off atop a Falcon 9 rocket from the Kennedy Space Center in its Crew-4 or SpaceX Crew-4 mission. After about eleven minutes, it successfully separated from the rocket’s last stage and went en route to carry out its mission. This is the 4th crewed mission of the Crew Dragon spacecraft within the normal rotation of the International Space Station crew. This is also the first mission for the Freedom.
The four new members of the International Space Station crew, who will join the Expedition 67 crew, are:
Norwood Kjell Lindgren. Born on January 23, 1973, in Taipei, Taiwan, he grew up mostly in England before moving to the U.S.A. He earned a bachelor’s in biology at the US Air Force Academy in 1995, a master cardiovascular physiology at Colorado State University (CSU) in 1996, and a doctorate in medicine at the University of Colorado in 2002. As a physician, he’s been pursuing various research also linked to the aerospace field. In 2009 he was selected by NASA as an astronaut candidate. He’s married and has three children. He previously served on the International Space Station as part of Expedition 44/45, which ended with the return to Earth on December 11, 2015.
Samantha Cristoforetti. Born on April 26, 1977, in Milan and grew up in Malè, she graduated in mechanical engineering from the Technical University of Munich, in Germany. She enlisted in the Italian Air Force in 2001 and in 2005 graduated and earned a degree in aeronautical sciences. In 2005 she specialized at the Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training in Wichita Falls, Texas, USA. In 2009 she was selected as an astronaut by ESA and is the first Italian woman to travel in space. Her mission was called Minerva. In 2013 she received the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic. She’s a fan of Star Trek and also of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. She previously served on the International Space Station as part of Expedition 42/43, which ended with the return to Earth on June 11, 2015.
Robert Thomas Hines, Jr. Born on January 11, 1976, in Fayetteville, North Carolina, USA, he earned a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering from Boston University in 1997. After working as an engineer, he enlisted in the US Air Force becoming an aircraft pilot, flight instructor, and test pilot serving on missions in various parts of the world. In 2017, he was selected as an astronaut candidate by NASA. He’s on his first space mission.
Jessica Andrea Watkins. Born on May 14, 1988, in Gaithersburg, Maryland, USA, she earned a bachelor’s degree in Environmental and Geological Sciences from Stanford and a Ph.D. in geology from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). During her Ph.D. research, she participated in work connected to the Mars Rover Curiosity mission while also working at NASA’s Ames Research Center and NASA’s JPL programs connected to various space missions. In 2017, she was selected as an astronaut candidate by NASA. In 2019, she participated in the NEEMO 23 submarine mission. She’s on her first space mission.
Tonight, at about 00.15 UTC, the Crew Dragon Freedom will reach the International Space Station and dock directly with the Harmony module. That’s the docking port vacated a few days ago by the other Crew Dragon, the Endeavour, when it departed the Station to end its Ax-1 mission. The delay in launching the Crew-4 mission is due precisely to this wait. The arrival of the new crew members occurs within a rapid rotation as the Crew-2 mission has just ended.
