Image: NASA
SpaceX Crew-6
Mission Profile
| Launch date | 2023-03-02 |
|---|---|
| Launch site | Launch Complex 39A, Kennedy Space Center, Florida |
| Launch vehicle | Falcon 9 Block 5 (B1078.1) |
| Spacecraft | Crew Dragon Endeavour (C206.4) |
| Target | Low Earth Orbit |
| Type | Crewed |
| End date | 2023-09-04 |
| Recovery | Atlantic Ocean near Jacksonville, Florida (SpaceX Dragon recovery vessel) |
| Duration | 185 days, 22 hours, 43 minutes |
| Partners | NASA, SpaceX, MBRSC (UAE), Roscosmos |
Overview
Crew-6 carried the Arab world into the era of long-duration spaceflight. After a first attempt on 27 February 2023 was scrubbed in the final minutes over a ground-system issue with the rocket's TEA-TEB ignition fluid, the veteran capsule Endeavour — on its fourth flight — lifted off on 2 March at 05:34 UTC atop the new booster B1078. In command was Stephen Bowen, a former submariner flying his fourth mission, with rookie MIT engineer Warren 'Woody' Hoburg as pilot, Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev on the second integrated seat-swap flight, and the UAE's Sultan Al Neyadi, beginning the first six-month mission by an Arab astronaut. Endeavour docked on 3 March at 06:40 UTC. The Expedition 69 increment delivered a landmark on 28 April 2023, when Al Neyadi stepped outside with Bowen for roughly seven hours — the first spacewalk ever performed by an Arab astronaut. Bowen's three EVAs on the mission brought his career total to ten, tying the U.S. record. After 186 days of research spanning heart tissue studies to plant biology, Endeavour splashed down in darkness off Jacksonville, Florida, on 4 September 2023 at 04:17 UTC.
Crew
Stephen Bowen
Commander
NASA; fourth spaceflight; reached ten career spacewalks during the mission, tying the U.S. record
Warren 'Woody' Hoburg
Pilot
NASA; first spaceflight; MIT aeronautics professor before joining the astronaut corps
Sultan Al Neyadi
Mission Specialist
MBRSC/UAE; completed the first long-duration spaceflight by an Arab astronaut and the first Arab spacewalk
Andrey Fedyaev
Mission Specialist
Roscosmos; first spaceflight; second cosmonaut to fly on Crew Dragon under the integrated-crew seat-swap agreement
Key Milestones
2023-02-27
First launch attempt scrubbed in the final minutes due to a ground-system TEA-TEB ignition-fluid issue
2023-03-02
Liftoff at 05:34 UTC — Crew Dragon Endeavour's fourth flight, on new Falcon 9 booster B1078
2023-03-03
Endeavour docks to the ISS at 06:40 UTC; crew joins Expedition 69
2023-04-28
Sultan Al Neyadi performs the first spacewalk by an Arab astronaut, a roughly seven-hour EVA with Stephen Bowen
2023-09-04
Splashdown in the Atlantic near Jacksonville at 04:17 UTC after 186 days in orbit
Key Achievements
Sultan Al Neyadi completed the first six-month spaceflight by an Arab astronaut
First spacewalk by an Arab astronaut, performed on 28 April 2023
Stephen Bowen reached ten career EVAs, tying the U.S. spacewalk record
Fourth flight of Crew Dragon Endeavour, then the fleet leader in crewed reuse
Second integrated NASA–Roscosmos seat-swap flight on a U.S. commercial spacecraft
Legacy & Significance
Crew-6 marked the moment emerging space nations moved from visiting orbit to living there: Al Neyadi's 186-day 'Sultan of Space' mission and historic spacewalk made the UAE only the eleventh nation whose astronaut has performed an EVA, validating the model by which smaller agencies buy long-duration seats on commercial vehicles. The flight also showcased the maturity of Dragon reuse — Endeavour flying crews for the fourth time — and sustained the seat-swap arrangement that kept the U.S.–Russian station partnership functioning through its most difficult period.
