The final member of Crew 7 has been announced, with Russian cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov joining as a mission specialist.
Borisov joins NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli (Mission Commander), European Spacey Agency astronaut Andreas Mogensen (Pilot), and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Satoshi Furukawa (Mission Specilast).
As the mission name implies, this will be the 7th crewed mission SpaceX has sent to International Space Station. Once aboard the orbiting outpost, the Crew will join Expeditions 69 and 70 and spend approximately 6 months conducting experiments and maintenance.
With the complete crew being announced, the mission patch was also released for the mission, and keeping with tradition, it prominently features a Dragon, with the head and neck of the dragon creating a 7. The colors of the patch honor the truly international makeup of this crew, with each coming from a different nation.
Our Crew-7 mission patch is something deeply meaningful to me. I hope it is as meaningful and symbolic to each individual at @NASA @esa @JAXA_jp @roscosmos @SpaceX, as well as all our family and friends who have contributed to our upcoming Crew-7 mission to the @Space_Station!… pic.twitter.com/9K0eLyn4Ro
— Jasmin Moghbeli (@AstroJaws) June 16, 2023
Launching Crew 7 will be Falcon 9 Booster 1081 on its first flight. B1081 recently completed a static fire test at the SpaceX McGregor Test Facility. Once the booster has arrived at Kennedy Space Center, it will be transported to Launch Complex 39A, and then Crew Dragon Endurance will be attached and moved to the launch pad. Endurance has previously launched the Crew 3 and Crew 5 missions to the International Space Station.
Crew Dragon Endeavour before the launch of Crew 5 (Credit Richard Angle)
The launch is currently scheduled for no earlier than mid-August. Once Crew 7 arrives, Crew 6 will begin their preparations to return home aboard their own Crew Dragon, the Endeavour.
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