Journey to the ISS: NASA and SpaceX Crew-2 Mission

From pre-flight preparations to docking with the International Space Station, here are some highlights from the NASA and SpaceX Crew-2 mission. NASA astronaut Shane Kimbrough, NASA astronaut Megan McArthur, ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet, and JAXA astronaut Akihiko Hoshide launched aboard a Crew Dragon spacecraft atop a Falcon 9 rocket on April 23 at 5:49A ET from the NASA Kennedy Launch Complex 39A. After a 23-hour journey, Crew-2 successfully docked with the International Space Station on April 24 at 5:08A ET.

Follow the Crew-2's journey to the ISS right here on Discovery.com and catch up on past NASA and SpaceX missions on SPACE LAUNCH LIVE, streaming on discovery+.

(Updated April 24, 2021)

April 22, 2021

By: Alexia Rosenfield and Dominique Vu

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SpaceX's Crew Dragon: Endeavour

SpaceX’s Crew Dragon, named Endeavour, is lifted and mated to the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket at NASA Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A beginning April 13, 2021. Endeavour was transported to the Launch Complex 39A integration hangar on April 12, after making the trek from its processing facility at nearby Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

SpaceX's Crew Dragon: Endeavour

SpaceX’s Crew Dragon “Endeavour,” atop the company’s Falcon 9 rocket, leaves the SpaceX integration hangar adjacent to NASA Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A for rollout to the launch pad on April 16, 2021.

SpaceX's Crew Dragon: Endeavour

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-2 Flight Readiness Review

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-2 Flight Readiness Review takes place at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on April 15, 2021.

SpaceX Crew-2 Dress Rehearsal

ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Thomas Pesquet is seen as he and crew mates NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur, and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Akihiko Hoshide depart the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building for Launch Complex 39A during a dress rehearsal prior to the Crew-2 mission launch, Sunday, April 18, 2021, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

SpaceX Crew-2 Dress Rehearsal

NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough, front, and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Thomas Pesquet, back left, and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Akihiko Hoshide, wearing SpaceX spacesuits, are seen as they prepare to depart the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building for Launch Complex 39A during a dress rehearsal prior to the Crew-2 mission launch, Sunday, April 18, 2021, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

SpaceX Crew-2 Dress Rehearsal

From left to right, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Thomas Pesquet, NASA astronauts Megan McArthur and Shane Kimbrough, and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Akihiko Hoshide, wearing SpaceX spacesuits, are seen as they prepare to depart the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building for Launch Complex 39A during a dress rehearsal prior to the Crew-2 mission launch, Sunday, April 18, 2021, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

SpaceX Crew-2 Dress Rehearsal

From left to right, NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Thomas Pesquet, and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Akihiko Hoshide, wearing SpaceX spacesuits during dress rehearsal.

SpaceX Crew-2 Preflight

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the company's Crew Dragon spacecraft onboard is seen at sunset on the launch pad at Launch Complex 39A as preparations continue for the Crew-2 mission.

SpaceX Crew-2 Preflight

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the company's Crew Dragon spacecraft onboard is seen on the launch pad at Launch Complex 39A before sunrise as preparations continue for the Crew-2 mission, Thursday, April 22, 2021, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

SpaceX Crew-2 Crew Walkout

From left to right, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Thomas Pesquet, NASA astronauts Megan McArthur and Shane Kimbrough, and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Akihiko Hoshide, wearing SpaceX spacesuits, are seen as they prepare to depart the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building for Launch Complex 39A to board the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft for the Crew-2 mission launch, Friday, April 23, 2021, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

SpaceX Crew-2 Crew Walkout

NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough, left, and Megan McArthur, right wave farewell, as they prepare to depart the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building for Launch Complex 39A to board the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft for the Crew-2 mission launch with crew mates ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Thomas Pesquet, and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Akihiko Hoshide, Friday, April 23, 2021, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

SpaceX Crew-2 Launch

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the company's Crew Dragon spacecraft is launched on NASA’s SpaceX Crew-2 mission to the International Space Station with NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Thomas Pesquet, and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Akihiko Hoshide onboard, Friday, April 23, 2021, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASA’s SpaceX Crew-2 mission is the second crew rotation mission of the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket to the International Space Station as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program. Kimbrough, McArthur, Pesquet, and Hoshide launched at 5:49 a.m. EDT from Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center to begin a six month mission onboard the orbital outpost.

SpaceX Crew-2 Launch

Separation from SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket

The first stage, above, separates from the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, below, during NASA’s SpaceX Crew-2 mission launch to the International Space Station with NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Thomas Pesquet, and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Akihiko Hoshide onboard, Friday, April 23, 2021, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

SpaceX Crew-2 Reached Low Earth Orbit

The members of Crew-2 are on their way to the International Space Station. They are scheduled to dock at 5:10A ET on Saturday, April 24.

SpaceX Crew-2 Approaches ISS for Docking

The SpaceX Crew Dragon approaches its space station docking port with the Kibo laboratory module in the foreground.

Welcome Aboard the ISS Crew-2!

The four new SpaceX Crew-2 astronauts joined the Expedition 65 crew today bringing the station population to 11.

11 Member Crew on the ISS

The 11-member crew aboard the International Space Station is actually a combination of three different crews. In the back row (from left), are the SpaceX Crew-2 astronauts Shane Kimbrough of NASA, Akihiko Hoshide of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), Thomas Pesquet of the European Space Agency, and Megan McArthur from NASA. They arrived at the station on April 24. In the center, are NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei and Roscosmos cosmonauts Oleg Novitskiy and Pyotr Dubrov, who rode the Soyuz MS-18 crew ship to the orbital lab on April 9. In the front row, are the SpaceX Crew-1 astronauts Shannon Walker, Victor Glover, and Michael Hopkins, all from NASA, and Soichi Noguchi from JAXA. The Crew-1 quartet have been aboard the station since Nov. 16 and are nearing the end of their mission.

Expedition 65 Astronauts Megan McArthur and Akihiko Hoshide

SpaceX Crew-2 Mission Specialists and Expedition 65 Flight Engineers Megan McArthur and Akihiko Hoshide pose for a portrait together as they familiarize themselves with systems aboard the International Space Station.

Expedition 65 Astronaut Shane Kimbrough

NASA astronaut and Expedition 65 Flight Engineer Shane Kimbrough is at the robotics workstation inside the U.S. Destiny laboratory module participating in Canadarm2 robotic arm training soon after his arrival to the ISS.

Expedition 65 Astronaut Thomas Pesquet

ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut and Expedition 65 Flight Engineer Thomas Pesquet is seated inside the Columbus laboratory module days after his arrival to the ISS for the GRASP experiment. The central nervous system investigation requires an astronaut to wear a virtual reality headset and reach toward virtual objects to help scientists understand how the brain adapts to microgravity.