NASA’s SpaceX

Crew-8

NASA’S COMMERCIAL CREW PROGRAM

MISSION OVERVIEW

LAUNCH VEHICLE

SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket

SPACECRAFT

SpaceX 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 off the coast of 

Florida

National Aeronautics and

Space Administration

The Crew-8 mission will fly aboard SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft. 

The spacecraft, named Endeavour, previously supported NASA’s 

Demo-2, Crew-2, and Crew-6, as well as Axiom Space’s Ax-1 

flights to and from the space station. As part of the refurbishment 

process, teams installed new components, including the heat 

shield, parachutes, Draco engines, and nosecone. 

These critical hardware components help the spacecraft withstand 

launch and reentry and provide steering and thrust to the 

spacecraft. 

This will be the first launch for the SpaceX 

Falcon 9 rocket supporting this mission. The 

rocket will accelerate Dragon to an orbital 

velocity of 17,500 mph prior to the spacecraft’s 

separation and rendezvous and docking with 

the International Space Station. Following stage 

separation, the Falcon 9 first stage will land at 

SpaceX’s Landing Zone 1 at Cape Canaveral 

Space Force Station in Florida.

NASA and SpaceX will launch a crew of four on an American 

rocket and spacecraft to the International Space Station. The 

agency’s SpaceX Crew-8 mission will carry NASA astronauts 

Matthew Dominick, commander; Michael Barratt, pilot; Jeanette 

Epps, mission specialist; and Roscosmos cosmonaut mission 

specialist Alexander Grebenkin. 

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the crew aboard a 

Dragon spacecraft, named Endeavour, from Launch Complex 39A 

at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Following its arrival 

to the space station, Crew-8 will dock to the forward-facing port 

of the Harmony module.

The flight is the eighth crew rotation mission with SpaceX to 

station, and the ninth flight of Dragon with people as part of 

NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. The crew will spend several 

months living and working aboard the orbiting laboratory before 

returning to Earth in the fall of 2024.
MEET CREW-8

BEHIND THE DESIGN SCIENCE

The official insignia of the 

SpaceX Crew-8 mission. 

Dragon Crew-8, composed 

of NASA astronauts Matthew 

Dominick, Michael Barratt, 

and Jeanette Epps, and 

Roscosmos cosmonaut 

Alexander Grebenkin, will 

maintain a continuous human 

research presence in low Earth 

orbit. The crew is represented 

by the never-ending path of a 

Latin numeral 8, with the dragon bowing with respect to the 

destination, the International Space Station.

www.nasa.gov SP-2024-01-068-KSC

Crew-8 will conduct new scientific research

to prepare for human exploration beyond low 

Earth orbit and benefit humanity on Earth.

Experiments include using stem cells to 

create organoid models to study degenerative 

diseases, studying the effects of microgravity 

and UV radiation on plants at a cellular level, 

and testing whether wearing pressure cuffs on 

the legs could prevent fluid shifts and reduce 

health problems in astronauts. These are just a 

few of the more than 200 scientific experiments 

and technology demonstrations taking place 

during their mission.

Matthew Dominick

COMMANDER

Michael Barratt

PILOT

Jeanette Epps

MISSION SPECIALIST

Alexander Grebenkin

MISSION SPECIALIST

Hometown: 

Wheat Ridge, Colorado

Previous Missions: 

First Mission

Hometown: 

Camas, Washington

Previous Missions:

Expeditions 19 and 20, 

STS-133

Hometown: 

Syracuse, New York

Previous Missions: 

First Mission

Hometown: 

Myski, Russia

Previous Missions: 

First Mission