Coverage Set for NASA’s SpaceX Crew-4 Briefing, Events, Broadcast

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. (NASA PR) — NASA will provide coverage of the upcoming prelaunch and launch activities for the agency’s SpaceX Crew-4 mission sending astronauts to the International Space Station.

The launch is targeted for 5:26 a.m. EDT Saturday, April 23, from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The Crew Dragon spacecraft, dubbed by Crew-4 as Freedom, is scheduled to dock to the space station at 6 a.m. Sunday, April 24.

Prelaunch activities, along with launch and docking will air live on NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agency’s  website.

The Crew-4 flight will carry Mission Commander Kjell Lindgren, Pilot Bob Hines, and Mission Specialist Jessica Watkins, all of NASA, and Mission Specialist Samantha Cristoforetti of ESA (European Space Agency), to the space station for a science expedition in microgravity.

The mission is the fourth crew rotation to fly on a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket and the fifth SpaceX flight with NASA astronauts, including the Demo-2 test flight in 2020 to the space station, as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program.

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-4 mission coverage is as follows (all times Eastern):

Monday, April 18

12:30 p.m. (approximately) – Crew arrival media event at Kennedy on the NASA Television Media Channel with the following participants (limited to previously confirmed in-person media only):

• Kathryn Lueders, associate administrator, Space Operations Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters
• Janet Petro, director, Kennedy Space Center
• Frank de Winne, manager, International Space Station Program, ESA
• NASA astronaut Kjell Lindgren
• NASA astronaut Bob Hines
• NASA astronaut Jessica Watkins
• ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti

Tuesday, April 19

6:30 a.m. – Virtual crew media engagement at Kennedy with Crew-4 astronauts on NASA Television:

• NASA astronaut Kjell Lindgren
• NASA astronaut Bob Hines
• NASA astronaut Jessica Watkins
• ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti

Thursday, April 21

9:30 p.m. (approximately) – Prelaunch news teleconference at Kennedy (no earlier than one hour after completion of the launch readiness review) with the following participants:

• Steve Stich, manager, Commercial Crew Program, NASA Kennedy
• Joel Montalbano, manager, International Space Station Program, NASA Johnson
• Zeb Scoville, flight director, Flight Operations Directorate, Johnson
• Jessica Jensen, vice president, customer operations and integration, SpaceX
• Frank de Winne, manager, International Space Station Program, ESA
• Arlena Moses, launch weather officer, U.S. Space Force 45th Weather Squadron

Friday, April 22

10 a.m. – NASA Administrator Media Briefing on NASA Television with the following participants:

• NASA Administrator Bill Nelson
• NASA Associate Administrator Bob Cabana
• Kathryn Lueders, associate administrator, Space Operations Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters
• Kirt Costello, chief scientist, International Space Station Program, NASA Johnson
• Frank de Winne, manager, International Space Station Program, ESA
• NASA Astronaut

Saturday, April 23

1:45 a.m. – NASA Television launch commentary coverage begins

5:26 a.m. – Launch

7 a.m. (approximately) – Postlaunch news conference on NASA Television

• NASA Administrator Bill Nelson
• Kathryn Lueders, associate administrator, Space Operations Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters
• Steve Stich, manager, Commercial Crew Program, NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston
• Joel Montalbano, manager, International Space Station Program, NASA Johnson
• Jessica Jensen, vice president, customer operations and integration, SpaceX
• Frank de Winne, manager, International Space Station Program, ESA

Sunday, April 24

6 a.m.– Docking

7:50 a.m. – Hatch Opening

8:15 a.m. – Welcome Ceremony from the International Space Station with the following participants:

• Kathryn Lueders, associate administrator, Space Operations Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters
• Josef Aschbacher, director general, ESA

NASA TV Launch Coverage

NASA TV live coverage will begin at 1:45 a.m. on Saturday, April 23. For NASA TV downlink information, schedules, and links to streaming video, visit:

https://www.nasa.gov/live

Audio only of the news conferences and launch coverage will be carried on the NASA “V” circuits, which may be accessed by dialing 321-867-1220, -1240, -1260 or -7135. On launch day, “mission audio,” countdown activities without NASA TV launch commentary, will be carried on 321-867-7135.

NASA Website Launch Coverage

Launch day coverage of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-4 mission will be available on the agency’s website. Coverage will include live streaming and blog updates beginning no earlier than 1:45 a.m. on Saturday, April 23, as the countdown milestones occur. On-demand streaming video and photos of the launch will be available shortly after liftoff. Follow countdown coverage on our launch blog at:

https://blogs.nasa.gov/commercialcrew

Launch also will be available on local amateur VHF radio frequency 146.940 MHz and UHF radio frequency 444.925 MHz, FM mode, heard within Brevard County on the Space Coast.

Attend the launch virtually

Members of the public can register to attend this launch virtually. NASA’s virtual guest program for this mission also includes curated launch resources, notifications about related opportunities or changes, and a stamp for the NASA virtual guest passport following a successful launch.

Watch and engage on social media

Let people know you’re following the mission on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram by using the hashtags #Dragon and #NASASocial. You can also stay connected by following and tagging these accounts:

• Twitter: @NASA, @NASAKennedy, @NASASocial, @Space_Station, @ISS_Research, @ISS National Lab, @SpaceX
• Facebook: NASA, NASAKennedy, ISS, ISS National Lab
• Instagram: @NASA, @NASAKennedy, @ISS, @ISSNationalLab, @SpaceX

Did you know NASA has Spanish language social accounts called NASA en Espanol? Make sure to check out NASA en Espanol on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube for more coverage on Crew-4.

Para obtener información sobre cobertura en español en el Centro Espacial Kennedy o si desea solicitar entrevistas en español, comuníquese con Antonia Jaramillo 321-501-8425 [email protected].

NASA will provide a live video feed of Launch Complex 39A approximately 48-hours prior to the planned liftoff of the Crew-4 mission. Pending unlikely technical issues, the feed will be uninterrupted until the prelaunch broadcast begins on NASA TV, approximately four hours prior to launch.

Once the feed is live, you will find it here:

https://youtube.com/kscnewsroom

NASA’s Commercial Crew Program has delivered on its goal of safe, reliable, and cost-effective transportation to and from the International Space Station from the United States through a partnership with American private industry. This partnership is changing the arc of human spaceflight history by opening access to low-Earth orbit and the International Space Station to more people, more science and more commercial opportunities. The space station remains the springboard to NASA’s next great leap in space exploration, including future missions to the Moon and, eventually, to Mars.

For NASA’s launch blog and more information about the mission, visit:

https://www.nasa.gov/commercialcrew