WIKIARCHIVES.SPACE

ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Thomas Pesquet and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Akihiko Hoshide are seen on the crew access arm of Launch Complex 39A before boarding SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft atop the company’s Falcon 9 rocket before the launch of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-2 mission to the International Space Station, Friday, April 23, 2021, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASA’s SpaceX Crew-2 mission is the second crew rotation mission of the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket to the International Space Station as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program. Pesquet, Hoshide, and NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur launched at 5:49 a.m. EDT from Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center to begin a six month mission onboard the orbital outpost.