SpaceX Crew Dragon to Launch Four to ISS but Valve Issues Remain

SpaceX is preparing to launch its seventh crewed mission to the International Space Station (ISS) on 25 August 2023, using its Crew Dragon spacecraft Endurance. The mission, called Crew-7, will carry four astronauts from four different nations: NASA's Jasmin Moghbeli, ESA's Andreas Mogensen, JAXA's Satoshi Furukawa, and Roscosmos' Konstantin Borisov (Russian Federation).

The launch comes amid concerns about valve corrosion in the spacecraft's propulsion system. During a press conference, SpaceX said that the extensive simulations and testing they have carried out so far don't match the actual operating experience of long term on orbit and salt water slash down exposure so they will work to increase the fidelity of their testing to match their real world data.

SpaceX's rival Boeing has also faced valve issues with its Starliner spacecraft, which was supposed to launch an uncrewed test flight to the ISS in early August. However, the launch was delayed after engineers found that 13 of the 24 oxidizer valves were stuck in the wrong position. Boeing said the problem was likely due to moisture and humidity interacting with the oxidizer and creating nitric acid that corroded the valves.

SpaceX has flown eight crewed missions to the ISS so far, using four different Crew Dragon capsules. The company plans to reuse each capsule for up to five missions, and has already flown Endurance three times. SpaceX also launches private missions, such as Inspiration 4 and the Axiom missions.

The SpaceX Dragon Endeavour spacecraft is scheduled to depart the ISS on 1 September, with ISS Expedition 69 crew consisting of NASA astronauts Stephen Bowen and Woody Hoburg, Sultan Alneyadi from the United Arab Emirates, and Andrey Fedyaev of Roscosmos.

SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell told Reuters in March that the company was finishing its final Crew Dragon capsule, but would still manufacture components for refurbishing. SpaceX later decided to build a fifth Crew Dragon, to be available sometime in 2024, according to William Gerstenmaier, Vice President, Build and Flight Reliability, SpaceX.