NASA's SpaceX Crew-7 astronauts and cosmonaut arrived at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
The astronauts are Jasmin Moghbeli (NASA / mission commander); ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Andreas Mogensen, pilot; mission specialists JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Satoshi Furukawa and Roscosmos cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov.
Credit: NASA
The astronauts are Jasmin Moghbeli (NASA / mission commander); ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Andreas Mogensen, pilot; mission specialists JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Satoshi Furukawa and Roscosmos cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov.
Credit: NASA
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07:41 >> Hello, everybody.
07:43 Well, it's another great day in our space program.
07:51 And if ever you've seen the evidence of this being an international program,
07:58 you're seeing it today with this crew.
08:01 This is the -- of all crews, this is the most international that we've had,
08:09 and I think shows the breadth of the cooperation around the globe.
08:17 So let's get on with the launch,
08:22 and let me bring up our associate administrator, Colonel Bob Cabana.
08:31 >> Thank you, sir.
08:33 This is quick.
08:34 It's always great to come back to Florida.
08:36 You know, if you read the individual resumes of this crew, each one of them is outstanding,
08:40 and when you put them all together, this is a pretty darn amazing crew.
08:44 Everything's tracking well so far for launch.
08:47 We're looking forward to the flight readiness review on Monday.
08:49 All the issues are on track, and I'm waiting for next Friday.
08:53 I want to see these guys off.
08:55 You've heard me say it before.
08:56 The only way I think it could be better, if I could go with them,
08:59 and then I think that would be even better yet.
09:01 But, no, it's a great crew.
09:04 I don't know if you saw it, but the mobile launcher is back out on the pad for testing,
09:08 and we're getting ready for Artemis II next year also, and everything's moving along on that,
09:12 and that's going to be another amazing effort by NASA as we return to the moon.
09:17 With that, I'm going to turn it over to Janet Petra, the KSC Center Director,
09:21 and we'll hear a few words from her.
09:23 Janet?
09:25 >> Yeah, good afternoon.
09:27 It is another hot day here at Florida's spaceport,
09:30 but we are super excited to welcome our four crew members here.
09:35 This is our seventh operational mission to the International Space Station
09:40 under the Commercial Crew Program,
09:42 and even though we have a robust manifest here at the Kennedy Space Center,
09:46 we are always super excited when we're going to stick a human on the rocket,
09:50 and putting our crew is always ups the level of excitement.
09:56 I want to thank everyone who, behind the scenes,
09:59 have been working so hard and diligently towards this moment when we launch the crew this coming Friday.
10:07 Now I want to introduce you to someone whose leadership has really been instrumental
10:13 in the success of the Commercial Crew Program
10:15 as we've returned humans to low-Earth orbit from American soil.
10:20 And so serving as a deputy manager for our Commercial Crew Program here at the Kennedy Space Center,
10:25 let me introduce you and join me in welcoming Dana Hutcherson.
10:34 >> Hi, I'm very excited to be here, and welcome to the crew who just arrived.
10:39 It's hard to believe we're on our seventh rotational mission,
10:41 eighth launch of sending astronauts to the International Space Station from U.S. soil.
10:47 It's an honor to represent the Commercial Crew Program today to welcome this international crew,
10:52 and I really appreciate the crew trusting us and the team to provide that safe and healthy transportation vehicle.
11:00 Commercial Crew is delivering on its promise of providing safe, reliable,
11:04 and cost-effective transportation to and from low-Earth orbit.
11:08 The crew will fly on Dragon Endurance spacecraft provided by SpaceX
11:13 and will spend about six months aboard the International Space Station conducting critical science
11:19 and research experiments that will enhance our understanding of how space affects the human body
11:24 and will look to return to the moon and eventually travel to Mars.
11:28 These successful partnerships with NASA and the commercial companies allows us to focus our research
11:33 on exploration and research, expanding NASA's ability to explore our universe and inspire the world.
11:41 Now I'd like to turn it over to Eric VanderWaal,
11:44 who leads the International Space Station Program Houston office for the European Space Agency.
11:49 Thank you.
11:56 Thank you so much, Dana.
11:58 My name is Eric VanderWaal.
12:00 I'm the head of the European Space Agency Houston office,
12:05 and it's really a great honor to be here to welcome this amazing crew.
12:09 As Bob Cabana often said, it's good to be flying again, and this is very applicable to ESA this time.
12:16 We flew on Crew-2, we flew on Crew-3, we flew on Crew-4, and here we are with Andy on Crew-7.
12:23 It's so great to see Andy about to embark on his second flight to the ISS,
12:29 this time for a long-duration stay, six months.
12:32 Also, he will be the first European pilot on the Crew Dragon vehicle,
12:37 and later we're going to see him in the role of the ISS commander on the space station.
12:44 When I look at these astronauts, I do not only see a group of very committed, talented, gifted individuals,
12:52 but I also see a fantastic picture that displays the multicultural endeavor
12:58 and the incredible partnership that we have in the ISS.
13:02 Doing science is key for the ESA/ISS program,
13:06 and we look forward to the extension of the science complement,
13:11 or the execution of the science complement of the Eugen mission.
13:15 There will be more than 30 European experiments,
13:19 and this will contribute to the continuation of European science in low-Earth orbit
13:25 and help push the boundaries of human space exploration, not only in low-Earth orbit, but also beyond.
13:32 I want to thank the whole NASA team, all the SpaceX teams, all the teams at ESA
13:39 who worked so hard to get us where we are today, and most importantly, ensure that we're flying safely.
13:46 I want to read a quote from a former U.S. president.
13:52 It goes as follows.
13:54 "Mankind is drawn to the heavens for the same reasons we were once drawn into unknown lands and across the open sea.
14:03 We choose to explore space because doing so improves our lives and lifts our national spirit.
14:11 Let us continue this journey."
14:14 George W. Bush.
14:17 With that, I say, Jasmine, Andy, Satoshi, and Constantine, I wish you all a great journey.
14:26 Go Crew 7.
14:28 And Andy, go geyser.
14:31 Thank you.
14:32 And with this, I would like to hand over to Mr. Sakai, the JAXA ISS Program Manager.
14:42 Good afternoon.
14:44 Thank you for the introduction.
14:45 My name is Sakai Junichi, ISS Program Manager of JAXA.
14:50 First of all, on behalf of JAXA, I would like to sincerely express my appreciation to NASA, SpaceX,
14:59 and all of those colleagues and to participate in Crew 7 launch operations and launch preparation and continuous ISS operations.
15:17 It is the fourth year since crew transportation from U.S. soil has resumed.
15:33 And JAXA also has sent to and will send Japanese astronauts to ISS for four consecutive years.
15:47 I believe that this is a close and continuous partnership between international partners.
15:58 Both have brought these remarkable opportunities to us.
16:12 So this is the first flight since Japanese government determined to extend the ISS operation beyond 2024.
16:28 And this mission will be the second flight and second long-term resistance in ISS for Japanese astronaut Furukawa Satoshi.
16:43 He will work out a variety of missions ranging from life, material, physical science,
17:01 technological demonstration for future lunar exploration and post-ISS utilizations by utilizing Kibo's unique environment
17:16 to conduct various missions in collaboration with astronauts from international partners.
17:30 I'm confident that this progress won't stop and leads to our challenge to Mars, moons, Mars and beyond.
17:46 So I'm looking forward to coming to this launch and will continue for final preparations.
18:03 So Godspeed, guys. See you six months later. Thank you.
18:13 [ Applause ]
18:17 >> And at this time we will now open it up for the crew to offer some final remarks.
18:22 In front of you we have a multinational crew, Jasmine Mokbele, NASA astronaut and crew seven commander,
18:29 Andreas Mogensen, ESA astronaut and crew seven pilot, Satoshi Furukawa, JAXA astronaut and crew seven mission specialist,
18:37 and Constantine Forosov, Roscosmos cosmonaut and crew seven mission specialist.
18:42 If the crew would like to step forward when you're ready to offer your remarks.
18:47 >> Thank you. Good afternoon.
18:49 You can probably tell from the huge smiles on our faces that we're extremely excited to finally be here at Kennedy Space Center
18:56 and for the journey we're about to embark on.
18:59 One of the first tasks that we had to accomplish as a crew when we were assigned was to design our mission patch.
19:09 We had to think about what do we want this patch to symbolize, what do we want it to represent,
19:16 and what were the things about this mission that were really meaningful to us.
19:20 So if you don't mind, I'd like to talk about just a few of the elements of the patch that I think are very special to us.
19:28 First, if you look at our patch, the Earth is the central aspect of it.
19:34 It is the focus of the patch.
19:36 It's meant to be very beautiful.
19:38 I'm sure it's not as beautiful as when we'll look back on Earth from the unique vantage point of low Earth orbit,
19:46 but we wanted it to represent that everything we do on this mission we hope ultimately benefits our beautiful home planet
19:55 and those on it.
19:57 Next, the tail of the dragon rises into a golden star.
20:03 This to us symbolizes the ascent to the stars.
20:07 Space flight is extremely difficult.
20:11 It requires perseverance.
20:14 It requires vigilance, and this was kind of our thank you to the pioneers of space flight who paved the way for us to be here today
20:22 and for all those on our team who prepared us for this moment and will support us throughout the mission and upon our return.
20:29 And then the last element I would love to point out, as others have mentioned,
20:36 beyond the rise to the star are the colors white, red, and blue.
20:44 Those colors encompass the colors that make up the flags of our four nations.
20:50 We are extremely proud, and I know I personally am humbled to be a member of this incredible crew,
20:58 where if you look at our four patches, you'll see a different nation's flag on each one.
21:05 We hope this represents what we can accomplish when we work together in unity and cooperate together,
21:13 and we think this really is what the International Space Station is all about.
21:19 And lastly, I'd again like to thank those that supported us, especially our families.
21:26 With that, I'd like to hand it over to Andreas Mogensen, the pilot for Crew 7,
21:33 and as stated, he'll be our commander on board the International Space Station.
21:43 Good afternoon, everyone.
21:44 It's an honor to represent the European Space Agency as pilot of Crew 7,
21:50 and it's an honor to be part of this very international crew.
21:55 Not only are we an international crew, but our training and preparation have taken us around the world,
22:01 and I'd like to thank all of our partner agencies, NASA, ESA, JAXA, and Roscosmos,
22:07 for preparing us so well and getting us to this point where we are today,
22:12 ready to embark on a long-duration mission to the International Space Station.
22:18 As soon as I landed in Soyuz in Kazakhstan after my first mission in 2015,
22:26 I knew that I wanted to go back to space.
22:28 I wanted to go back to the International Space Station, and I'm so happy that the day is almost here.
22:35 It's hard to describe what an incredible place the International Space Station is.
22:40 I didn't realize it until shortly before docking on my first mission
22:45 when I looked out the windows of the Soyuz spacecraft
22:47 and I could see the gigantic solar arrays stretching out in space next to me.
22:53 And then opening the hatch and flying on board the space station,
22:57 I realized just what a unique and incredible laboratory that we, humanity,
23:03 has built in low-Earth orbit over the past 20, 25 years.
23:07 And I'm so excited to get back up there and to participate in the groundbreaking research
23:13 and technology development that we do on board the space station.
23:18 As Jasmine noted, what we do up there is for all of us here on Earth
23:23 and hopefully will benefit our society for many, many years in the future.
23:29 And I can't wait to get back up there and to continue the incredible work that we do.
23:35 Thank you.
23:41 Hello. I'm happy to be here at the launch and landing facility
23:46 because it was formerly called Shuttle Landing Facility.
23:50 And in my previous mission on the International Space Station in 2011,
23:55 I was fortunate to welcome the last space shuttle crew members of SCS-135.
24:02 And this time I look forward to flying Crew 7.
24:07 And I am very excited to work in the outstanding international team of NASA,
24:15 SpaceX, ESA, CSA, Roscosmos and JAXA.
24:20 And on board the International Space Station, using the special, unique environment
24:26 like long-lasting microgravity, I'd like to contribute to those that will make our life on Earth better.
24:38 For example, accelerating new medicine development.
24:42 In addition, I'm keen to work on technology demonstration towards the human expression to the moon in the future.
24:53 And I'd like to hand over to Kostya.
25:01 Good afternoon, everyone. I'm more than excited, actually.
25:05 It's so hard to say what I feel because the training has been very intense.
25:10 We traveled the world. We enjoyed a lot of classes, lectures.
25:14 And, you know, every next day is training. You train again, you train again.
25:19 And it's so hard to imagine that soon we'll just do similar things,
25:24 but it will not be training, but just in four days in the evening we wake up and we go to space.
25:30 I'm very excited, really. I'm excited.
25:33 I'm honored to be part of the international crew so much because it's the most international crew ever
25:39 and you cannot make it more because four people, four nationalities.
25:43 And, you know, like experienced astronauts and cosmonauts, they say that when you go to the ISS
25:49 and you look at the planet, you see that there are no borders.
25:54 And really I want to continue and to convey that feeling and that emotion
26:00 and also to support the cooperation which we have been having so far and we continue like that.
26:06 So I'm very thankful to all the agencies, to all the people on the ground making this happen
26:11 and also to our families and to the crew which I have been happily training so far.
26:16 Thanks a lot.
26:18 [Applause]