NASA’s SpaceX

Crew-3

NASA’S COMMERCIAL CREW PROGRAM

MISSION OVERVIEW

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-3 mission is the third crew flight of the 

Crew Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket, carrying NASA 

astronauts Raja Chari, mission commander, Tom Marshburn, 

pilot, and Kayla Barron, mission specialist plus ESA 

(European Space Agency) astronaut Matthias Maurer, who 

also will serve as a mission specialist, to the International 

Space Station.

This is the first spaceflight for Chari, Barron and Maurer. It is 

the third spaceflight for Marshburn, who previously served 

as a crew member of the space shuttle STS-127 mission in 

2009 and Expedition 34/35 aboard the space station, which 

concluded in 2013.

The mission will lift off from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s 

Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The crew is scheduled 

for a long-duration stay aboard the orbiting laboratory, living 

and working as part of what is expected to be a sevenmember crew.

LAUNCH VEHICLE

SpaceX Falcon 9

SPACECRAFT

SpaceX Crew Dragon

HEIGHT: 229.6 ft

DIAMETER: 12 ft

PROPELLENT: LOX (liquid oxygen) 

and rocket grade kerosene (RP-1)

PROPULSION: 9 SpaceX Merlin 

engines – 190,000 lbf each

LAUNCH LOCATION: Launch 

Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy 

Space Center in Florida

HEIGHT: 26.7 ft

DIAMETER: 13 ft

VOLUME: 328 ft3

CREW CAPACITY: Up to seven

RETURN: Splashdown-based 

water return

National Aeronautics and

Space Administration

The Crew-3 mission will fly a new Crew Dragon spacecraft and will 

be the first mission to fly a previously used nosecone. It is tradition 

for a crew flying a new capsule to name it, so the astronauts chose 

Endurance. It is a tribute to the tenacity of the human spirit as we 

push farther than ever with commercial opportunities in low-Earth 

orbit and plans to go to the Moon and Mars.

Crew-3 is scheduled for a long-duration stay aboard the 

International Space Station, spending several months conducting 

science and maintenance before the four astronauts return to Earth 

in spring 2022.

Falcon 9 will launch Dragon from historic 

Launch Complex 39A. It will accelerate 

Dragon to an orbital velocity of 17,500 mph 

prior to spacecraft separation and rendezvous 

and docking with the International Space 

Station. The Falcon 9 that will be used 

to launch this mission flew previously on 

SpaceX’s 22nd commercial resupply mission 

to the station in June 2021.
MEET THE CREW-3 CREW

BEHIND THE DESIGN

The Crew Dragon Crew-3 patch highlights the beauty of space and the vehicle that is 

delivering our team to the International Space Station. The sunlit capsule heralds the dawn 

of a new era of human space flight, as commercial vehicles expand into low earth orbit. The 

capsule flies upward, thrusting beyond the edge of the circle, representing an international 

effort that pushes to reach new heights of space exploration. The flames below the capsule 

honor the of thousands of workers who contributed to the US commercial vehicle effort—

the fire in their hearts propels the program’s success. Since Crew-3 is the third operational 

flight to the Space Station, the number three figures prominently in both the shape of the 

exhaust below the capsule and the highlighted stars. A dragon is embedded in the exhaust 

opposite the three for the capsule’s namesake. Finally, four red planets represent the four 

crew members of the mission, as well as humanity’s dream to explore Mars and even more 

distant planetary bodies.

Raja Chari

COMMANDER

Thomas Marshburn

PILOT

Kayla Barron

MISSION SPECIALIST

Matthias Maurer

MISSION SPECIALIST

www.nasa.gov SP-2021-09-741-KSC

Hometown: Milwaukee, WI

Previous Missions: 

First Mission

Hometown: Statesville, NC

Previous Missions: STS-127, 

Expeditions 34/35

Hometown: Richland, WA

(born in Pocatella, ID)

Previous Missions: 

First Mission

Hometown: Sankt Wendel 

(Saarland), Germany

Previous Missions: 

First Mission