ESA – Watch Huginn launch

Launch

Crew-7 consisting of ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen, NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli, JAXA astronaut Satoshi Furukawa and Roscosmos astronaut Konstantin Borisov will take off in the SpaceX Crew Dragon Endurance on top of a Falcon 9 rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Centre in Florida, USA.  Liftoff is planned at 08:49 BST (09:49 CEST, 03:49 local time) and will be streamed on ESA WebTV 2. 

First European Dragon pilot

Andreas will be the first European to take the role as pilot on the Crew Dragon, where he will sit next to Jasmin, the Crew-7 commander. Andreas will monitor the spacecraft’s performance and systems are working as expected during the flight to the Space Station, like a copilot in an aircraft.  

“It is an honour to be the pilot of Crew Dragon, with our international partners showing their trust in ESA and my work,” says Andreas.  

Quarantine and traditions

Before launch, the astronauts enter quarantine to ensure no unwanted bacteria or viruses make their way to the Space Station.  

The astronauts will head to Endurance three hours before liftoff, around 05:30 BST (06:30 CEST). Before walkout, the astronauts go through a series of traditions such as playing a card game with the head of NASA’s Astronaut Office until the astronauts win a round. They will also sign their name on the wall of the last room before getting into the Dragon capsule. 

Journey to space

Just two and half minutes after liftoff the Falcon 9 first-stage booster will separate from the rocket to land back on Earth. The second stage continues to bring the crew to orbit around nine minutes after liftoff. Once the second stage cuts its engines, a zero-g indicator will start to float in the Endurance spacecraft, letting the crew know they have reached orbit.  

The trip to the International Space Station will take around 24 hours where they will dock. The Huginn mission will officially begin as soon as Andreas passes the hatch to Earth’s orbiting laboratory.  

Tune into ESA’s WebTV 2 to watch the launch on the morning of 25 August and follow Andreas’s mission on the Huginn page and his social media.