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NASA, SpaceX, and their international partners have given the green light for the launch of the seventh operational Crew Dragon mission to the International Space Station (ISS). The Crew 7 mission will consist of three astronauts and one cosmonaut and is scheduled to launch on Friday, August 25th at 3:49 a.m. EDT from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. The launch will be followed by a docking with the ISS on Saturday, August 26th at 2:02 a.m. EDT.

Prior to the launch, the Crew 6 team currently stationed on the ISS will return to Earth after a multi-day handover to assist the Crew 7 team in getting acclimated. The Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Crew Dragon Endurance capsule was rolled out to the launch pad on Sunday and underwent a dry dress rehearsal on Monday.

During the rehearsal, the crew and launch teams went through pre-flight operations, and the astronauts will board Dragon early Tuesday morning. Following this, a static fire test of the nine Merlin engines will be conducted. This test will ensure that the engines are performing properly before the launch. NASA’s Commercial Crew Program manager, Steve Stich, mentioned that the teams will fully fuel the rocket and review the data from the test jointly with SpaceX.

During the Flight Readiness Review, NASA and SpaceX addressed two specific topics. One topic concerned the corrosion of “low-flow propellant isolation valves” after SpaceX’s 28th cargo mission to the ISS. The teams inspected the valves and replaced some on the Crew Dragon Endurance to ensure the mission’s success. The corrosion was caused by oxidizer vapors mixing with moisture.

Another topic discussed was the performance of drogue parachutes during the return sequence of a Crew Dragon spacecraft. In one previous instance, one of the parachutes took longer than expected to fully inflate. However, after examination and modeling, NASA and SpaceX determined that the parachutes were suitable for the Crew 7 mission.

Meanwhile, SpaceX is also preparing for other missions, including Starlink Group 7-1 and Starlink Group 6-11. SpaceX has been working towards a record year of spaceflight and has already launched numerous rockets and satellites. The company aims to gather valuable data and insights from their missions to further improve their capabilities in both cargo and crewed flights.

Overall, the upcoming Crew 7 mission represents another important milestone in the partnership between NASA and SpaceX, as they continue to make strides in human spaceflight and exploration.

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