SpaceX Crew-5 visits Stennis

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-5 astronauts Nicole Mann of NASA and Koichi Wakata of JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) are welcomed to NASA’s Stennis Space Center by NASA Stennis Director Rick Gilbrech and NASA Stennis Deputy Director John Bailey on July 26. 

The crew members visited with NASA Stennis and NASA Shared Services Center employees to share details of their mission to the International Space Station. Mann and Wakata flew aboard the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.

 Mann commanded the mission and became the first indigenous woman from NASA to fly in space; Wakata served as a mission specialist in his fifth trip to space. 

The Crew-5 mission launched from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Oct. 5, 2022, and safely splashed down off the coast of Tampa, Fla., on March 11 following 157 days in orbit.

Throughout their mission, the Crew-5 team contributed to a host of science and maintenance activities and technology demonstrations. Mann and Wakata teamed up for two spacewalks, also outfitting the orbiting laboratory for solar array augmentation. 

 The goal of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program is safe, reliable, and cost-effective transportation to and from the International Space Station and low-Earth orbit. 

This already is providing additional research time and has increased the opportunity for discovery aboard humanity’s microgravity testbed for exploration, including helping NASA prepare for human exploration of the Moon and Mars. (Stennis Lagniappe 08/2023) 

Watch crew's interview with media Expedition 68 NASA’s SpaceX Crew-5 Talks with Media Following Mission - March 15, 2023 - YouTube