Launch America
Public-private partnership associated with the United States' return to human spaceflight
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Launch America is a public–private partnership between the United States and multiple space companies, closely related to NASA's Commercial Crew Program. The term "Launch America" was used as early as May 2016.[1] The initiative aims to end NASA's reliance on Roscosmos by developing launch systems that can carry crews to space from American soil.[2][3]
| Launch America | |
|---|---|
| |
| Status | Active |
| Genre | Long-term public-private partnership |
| Country | United States |
| Years active | 5 |
| Previous event | SpaceX Crew-10 |
| Next event | SpaceX Crew-11 |
| Organized by | NASA |
The first space launch under the "Launch America" banner occurred at the Demo-2 mission on 30 May 2020, successfully taking two astronauts to the International Space Station. This marked both the first launch of astronauts by a wholly commercial provider mission in the world, as well as the first crewed space launch by the U.S. in a decade, and the first ever crewed space launch by SpaceX.[4][5][6]
Flights
| Mission and Patch | Capsule | Launch date | Landing date | Description | Crew | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Demo-2  |
Crew Dragon Endeavour | 30 May 2020[5][6] | 2 August 2020 | First space launch under "Launch America" banner. This marked both the first launch of astronauts by a wholly commercial provider mission in the world, and the first crewed space launch by the U.S. in a decade, as well as being the first ever crewed space launch by SpaceX. | Success | |
SpaceX Crew-1  |
Crew Dragon Resilience | 16 November 2020[7] | 2 May 2021[8] | First operational Commercial Crew flight, second overall crewed orbital flight of Crew Dragon, flying four astronauts to the ISS for a six-month mission. Roscosmos had not yet certified the Crew Dragon vehicle, so a third NASA astronaut was added instead of a Russian cosmonaut.[9] Broke the record for the longest spaceflight by a U.S. crew vehicle, previously held by the Skylab 4 mission.[10] All members of this flight were part of the Expedition 64 crew. | Success | |
SpaceX Crew-2  |
Crew Dragon Endeavour | 23 April 2021[11] | 9 November 2021[12] | Second operational Commercial Crew flight, third overall crewed orbital flight of Crew Dragon, transferring crew to the ISS for a six-month mission. NASA agreed to allow SpaceX to reuse a booster and capsule for the first time on this flight. It was the first NASA orbital flight to reuse a crewed vehicle since STS-135 in 2011. After spending almost 200 days in orbit, the Crew Dragon Endeavour set the record for the longest spaceflight by a U.S. crew vehicle previously set by her sibling Crew Dragon Resilience on May 2, 2021.[13] All members of this flight were part of the Expedition 65 crew. | Success | |
SpaceX Crew-3  |
Crew Dragon Endurance | 11 November 2021[16] | 6 May 2022[17] | Third operational Commercial Crew flight, fifth overall crewed flight of Crew Dragon, transporting four astronauts to the ISS for a six-month mission. All members of this flight were part of the Expedition 66 and Expedition 67 crews. | Success | |
SpaceX Crew-4  |
Crew Dragon Freedom | 27 April 2022[19] | 14 October 2022[20] | The fourth flight contracted under CCP contract and the seventh overall crewed flight of Crew Dragon.[21] All members of this flight were part of the Expedition 67 and Expedition 68 crews. | Success | |
SpaceX Crew-5  |
Crew Dragon Endurance[28] | 5 October 2022[29] | 18 March 2023[30] | The fifth flight contracted under CCP contract and the eighth overall crewed orbital flight of Crew Dragon.[21] The fourth astronaut is Russian cosmonaut, Anna Kikina, flying on this mission as a part of Dragon–Soyuz swap flights that ensures both countries would have a presence on the station, and the ability to maintain their separate systems, if either Soyuz or commercial crew vehicles are grounded for an extended period.[31] All members of this flight are part of the Expedition 68 and Expedition 69 crews. | Success | |
SpaceX Crew-6  |
Crew Dragon Endeavour[35] | 2 March 2023[36] | 4 September 2023 | The sixth flight contracted under CCP contract.[21] | Success | |
SpaceX Crew-7  |
Crew Dragon Endurance | 26 August 2023[37] | 12 March 2024 | In late 2021, NASA contracted SpaceX for three more Commercial Crew Flights starting from Crew-7.[38] | Success | |
SpaceX Crew-8  |
Crew Dragon Endeavour | 4 March 2024 | 25 October 2024 | In late 2021, NASA contracted SpaceX for three more Commercial Crew Flights starting from Crew-7.[38] | Success | |
| Boeing Crew Flight Test (patch) |
Starliner Calypso[43] | 5 June 2024 | 7 September 2024 | The first crewed mission of Boeing Starliner. Landed uncrewed due to malfunctioning thrusters. | Partial failure | |
SpaceX Crew-9  |
Crew Dragon Freedom | 28 September 2024 | 19 March 2025 | The ninth flight contracted under CCP contract and the fifteenth overall crewed flight of Crew Dragon.[21] All members of this flight were part of the Expedition 72 crew. | Success | |
SpaceX Crew-10  |
Crew Dragon Endurance | 14 March 2025 | July 2025 | In May 2022, NASA contracted SpaceX for five more Commercial Crew Flights starting from Crew-10. | In Progress | |
| SpaceX Crew-11[45] | Crew Dragon Endeavour | 1 August 2025 | March 2026 | In May 2022, NASA contracted SpaceX for five more Commercial Crew Flights starting from Crew-10. | In progress | |
| Boeing Starliner-1 | Starliner Spacecraft 2 | TBD | TBD | First operational flight of Boeing Starliner. |
|
Planned |
| SpaceX Crew-12[45] | TBA | TBA | TBA | In May 2022, NASA contracted SpaceX for five more Commercial Crew Flights starting from Crew-10. | TBA | Planned |
| SpaceX Crew-13[45] | TBA | TBA | TBA | In May 2022, NASA contracted SpaceX for five more Commercial Crew Flights starting from Crew-10. | TBA | Planned |
| SpaceX Crew-14[45] | TBA | TBA | TBA | In May 2022, NASA contracted SpaceX for five more Commercial Crew Flights starting from Crew-10. | TBA | Planned |
Notes
- Alongside the 3 other crew members, Megan McArthur is using the same seat of the SpaceX Crew Dragon Endeavour in this mission which her husband, Bob Behnken, used in SpaceX Demo-2 mission, the first mission of the Endeavour capsule.[14]
- The European Portion of SpaceX Crew-2 is called Mission Alpha, which is headed by Thomas Pesquet shown by the logo
- The European Portion of SpaceX Crew-3 is called Mission Cosmic Kiss, which is headed by Matthias Maurer shown by the logo
