The timeline below covers major vehicle and crew activities during the Crew-2 countdown and rendezvous with the International Space Station. All times assume liftoff of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon spacecraft from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center at 5:49:02 a.m. EDT (0949:02 GMT) on Friday, April 23. All times in Eastern Daylight Time (GMT-4).
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THURSDAY, APRIL 22
- 11:09 p.m. EDT: Crew wakeup
FRIDAY, APRIL 23
- 12:19:02 a.m. EDT: Chief engineer launch readiness briefing
- 12:49:02 a.m. EDT: Launch shift arrives in Firing Room 4; Dragon IMU align/configure for launch
- 1:19:02 a.m. EDT: Dragon prop pressurization
- 1:29:02 a.m. EDT: Crew weather brief
- 1:30 a.m. EDT: NASA TV coverage begins
- 1:39:02 a.m. EDT: Crew handoff to SpaceX
- 1:49:02 a.m. EDT: Suit donning and checkouts
- 1:49:02 a.m. EDT: Launch director readiness poll for advance team to enter Blast Danger Area
- 1:54:02 a.m. EDT: Advance team travels to pad 39A
- 1:59:02 a.m. EDT: ISS state vector uploaded to Dragon
- 2:29:02 a.m. EDT: Crew walkout from Neil Armstrong O&C Building
- 2:34:02 a.m. EDT: Crew departs for pad 39A in Tesla Model Xs
- 2:54:02 a.m. EDT: Crew arrives at pad 39A
- 3:14:02 a.m. EDT: Astronauts ingress into Crew Dragon
- 3:29:02 a.m. EDT: Crew communications checks
- 3:34:02 a.m. EDT: Verify ready for seat rotation
- 3:35:02 a.m. EDT: Suit leak checks
- 3:54:02 a.m. EDT: Hatch closed for flight
- 5:04:02 a.m. EDT: SpaceX launch director verifies go for propellant load
- 5:07:02 a.m. EDT: Crew access arm retracts
- 5:11:02 a.m. EDT: Launch escape system armed
- 5:14:02 a.m. EDT: 1st and 2nd stage RP-1 fuel load begins; 1st stage LOX load begins
- 5:33:02 a.m. EDT: 2nd stage LOX load begins
- 5:42:02 a.m. EDT: 1st stage engine chill begins
- 5:44:02 a.m. EDT: Dragon transitions to internal power
- 5:44:32 a.m. EST: Strongback retraction begins
- 5:44:42 a.m. EDT: 1st stage fully loaded with RP-1
- 5:45:22 a.m. EDT: Autonomous Flight Termination System final setup
- 5:45:57 a.m. EDT: M-Vac engine igniter purge
- 5:46:02 a.m. EDT: 1st stage LOX tank full; Strongback at ~1.7 degrees
- 5:47:02 a.m. EDT: 2nd stage LOX tank full
- 5:48:02 a.m. EDT: Flight computer starts final pre-flight checks; F9 prop tanks pressurize for flight
- 5:48:17 a.m. EDT: SpaceX launch director verifies go for launch
- 5:48:59 a.m. EDT: Engine controller commands engine ignition sequence
- 5:49:02 a.m. EDT: Liftoff
- 5:49:02 a.m. EDT: Stage 1a abort mode
- 5:49:12 a.m. EDT: Pitch kick
- 5:49:55 a.m. EDT: Stage 1 throttle bucket
- 5:50:04 a.m. EDT: Max-Q
- 5:50:11 a.m. EDT: Mach 1
- 5:50:16 a.m. EDT: Stage 1b abort mode
- 5:51:37 a.m. EDT: Stage 2a abort mode
- 5:51:38 a.m. EDT: MECO; 1st stage engines cut off
- 5:51:41 a.m. EDT: Stage separation
- 5:51:49 a.m. EDT: 2nd stage’s M-Vac engine ignites
- 5:53:22 a.m. EDT: Bermuda ground station acquires F9 and Dragon signals
- 5:56:29 a.m. EDT: 1st stage entry burn
- 5:57:49 a.m. EDT: SECO-1; 2nd stage M-Vac engine shuts down; Orbit insertion
- 5:58:05 a.m. EDT: 1st stage landing burn
- 5:58:32 a.m. EDT: 1st stage landing on droneship
- 6:01:00 a.m. EDT: Dragon separates from 2nd stage; Begin Draco thruster checkouts
- 6:02:04 a.m. EDT: Dragon nosecone open sequence begins
- 6:38:25 a.m. EDT: Phase burn using Draco thrusters
- 7:30 a.m. EDT: Post-launch news conference on NASA TV
- 8:00 a.m. EDT: Crew downlink opportunity (approximate time)
- 2:00 p.m. EDT: Crew-2 sleep shift begins
- 5:30 p.m. EDT: ISS crew sleep shift begins
- 9:25:04 p.m. EDT: Boost burn using Draco thrusters
- 10:00 p.m. EDT: Crew-2 wakeup
- 10:10:32 p.m. EDT: Close burn using Draco thrusters
SATURDAY, APRIL 24
- 12:00 a.m. EDT: Crew downlink opportunity (approximate time)
- 12:06:46 a.m. EDT: Transfer burn using Draco thrusters
- 12:53:12 a.m. EDT: Coelliptic burn using Draco thrusters
- 2:00 a.m. EDT: ISS crew wakeup
- 2:10 a.m. EDT: Crew Dragon range 30 kilometers from ISS
- 2:48:56 a.m. EDT: Out of Plane burn using Draco thrusters
- 3:01 a.m. EDT: Crew Dragon range 15 kilometers from ISS
- 3:15 a.m. EDT: Go/no go decision for approach initiation burn
- 3:18 a.m. EDT: Crew Dragon range 10 kilometers from ISS
- 3:40 a.m. EDT: Approach initiation burn; Crew Dragon range 7.5 kilometers from ISS
- 4:05 a.m. EDT: Approach initiation midcourse burn
- 4:15 a.m. EDT: Go/no go decision to enter ISS keep out sphere (a 200-meter zone around the ISS)
- 4:25 a.m. EDT: Waypoint Zero arrival (400 meters below ISS)
- 4:39 a.m. EDT: Go/no go decision to approach Waypoint 2
- 4:49 a.m. EDT: Docking axis/Waypoint 1 arrival (220 meters in front of ISS)
- 5:00 a.m. EDT: Waypoint 2 arrival and hold (20 meters from ISS)
- 5:01 a.m. EDT: Go/no go decision for docking
- 5:05 a.m. EDT: Resume approach from Waypoint 2 (20 meters from ISS)
- 5:10 a.m. EDT: Contact and capture at IDA-2 on forward port of the Harmony module
- 5:23 a.m. EDT: Docking sequence complete; All hooks closed; Power umbilicals mated
- 5:35 a.m. EDT: Leak checks begin between Crew Dragon and ISS
- 7:00 a.m. EDT: Leak checks complete; Vestibule pressurization
- 7:15 a.m. EDT: Hatch opening; Crew-2 astronauts enter ISS
- 7:45 a.m. EDT: Welcome ceremony
- 2:29 p.m. EDT: Crew safety briefing
- 5:30 p.m. EDT: ISS crew sleep begins
- 5:49 p.m. EDT: Crew-2 sleep begins
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