NASA’s SpaceX

Crew-2

NASA’S COMMERCIAL CREW PROGRAM

MISSION OVERVIEW

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-2 mission is the second crew 

rotation flight with astronauts on the Crew Dragon 

spacecraft and the first launch with two international 

partners as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew 

Program.

Crew-2 will carry astronauts Shane Kimbrough 

and Megan McArthur of NASA, Akihiko Hoshide of 

JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency), and ESA 

(European Space Agency) astronaut Thomas Pesquet 

aboard a Crew Dragon spacecraft launching atop a 

Falcon 9 rocket on its way to the space station.

The crew is scheduled for a long-duration stay aboard 

the orbiting laboratory, spending several months 

conducting science and maintenance before the four 

astronauts return to Earth in fall 2021.

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

Once in orbit, the crew and SpaceX mission control will monitor a 

series of automatic maneuvers that will guide Dragon and the Crew-2 

astronauts to the International Space Station. After a predetermined 

time in orbit driven by the launch date, Dragon will be in position to 

rendezvous and dock with the station. The spacecraft is designed to 

autonomously dock, with the ability for the Crew to take control and 

pilot manually if necessary.

The Dragon being used in this flight will remain docked to the station 

for approximately six months, the full-length of a long-duration International Space Station expedition. It is the same Dragon astronauts 

Douglas Hurley and Robert Behnken named Endeavour and flew to the 

station for their historic Demo-2 mission.

Falcon 9 will launch Dragon from historic 

Launch Complex 39A, accelerating to help 

Dragon reach 17,500 mph to reach an 

intercept course with the International Space 

Station. The Falcon 9 that will be used to 

launch this mission is the same booster that 

launched NASA’s Crew-1, marking the first 

time a flight-proven booster will be used for a 

crewed launch.
MEET THE CREW-2 CREW

MORE CREW = MORE SCIENCE

BEHIND THE DESIGN

The determined expression of the Dragon in the Crew Dragon 

Crew-2 mission patch reflects the strength of the team and their 

contribution to the exploration of space.

The five large stars represents the five partner space agencies 

cooperating in the International Space Station Program - the 

Canadian Space Agency, the European Space Agency, the Japan 

Aerospace Exploration Agency, the National Aeronautics and 

Space Administration and Roscosmos.

After successfully docking, the astronauts of Crew-2 will be welcomed aboard station by the Expedition 

65 crew, including the Crew-1 astronauts still onboard. The space station’s crew size will again expand 

to seven people, increasing the amount of crew time available for research. The Crew-2 astronauts will 

spend their time aboard the International Space v conducting new and exciting scientific research in 

areas such as medical technology, human health, and materials to benefit life on Earth. 

Crew members will test the Butterfly IQ Ultrasound, a portable ultrasound device used in conjunction 

with a mobile computing device in the space environment. They also will conduct a variety of tissue 

engineering investigations, ranging from studies of bone, cardiovascular, muscle and liver health. 

An experiment from retail store Target will study cotton growth in microgravity to help identify more 

robust cotton varieties that require less water and pesticide use. 

During their stay on the orbiting laboratory, astronauts of Crew-2 will see cargo spacecraft including the Northrop Grumman 

Cygnus and the SpaceX cargo Dragon. They will conduct a series of spacewalks to install new solar arrays, increasing the 

station’s total available power from 160 kilowatts to up to 215 kilowatts.

Shane Kimbrough

COMMANDER

Megan McArthur

PILOT

Thomas Pesquet

MISSION SPECIALIST

Akihiko Hoshide

MISSION SPECIALIST

www.nasa.gov SP-2021-03-170-KSC

Hometown: Killeen, TX

Previous Missions: STS-126, 

Expedition 49/50

Hometown: Born in 

Honolulu, HI but considers 

California her home state

Previous Missions: STS-125

Hometown: Rouen, 

Normandy, France

Previous Missions: 

Expeditions 50 and 51

Hometown: Setagaya, 

Tokyo, Japan

Previous Missions: STS-124, 

He stayed on board to be part 

of Expedition 32/33