KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. – For the eighth time in fewer than three years, SpaceX is preparing to launch humans back into orbit to round out the month of Feburary.

The Crew-6 mission, launching with the support of space agencies in the U.S., Russia and the United Arab Emirates is set to launch in the pre-dawn hours of Monday.

The mission marks several important milestones in the era of commercial space. It’s the second seat swap for Russia’s space agency, Roscosmos, and NASA. The mission is also the first long-duration mission for an Arab astronaut.

Before the crew joins those aboard the International Space Station, take some time to learn more about the astronauts and cosmonaut of the Crew-6 mission.

Commander – Stephen Bowen

Leading the sixth crew rotation mission is NASA astronaut Stephen Bowen. Born Feb. 16, 1964, Bowen joined the astronaut corps for training in August 2000 and began working in the Astronaut Office Station Operations Branch two years later.

Bowen has the distinction of being the first Submarine Officer selected by NASA to become an astronaut. It wasn’t until 2008 when he had his first flight into space aboard STS-126 aboard Space Shuttle Endeavor and flew two shuttle mission after that.

Across those 47 days in space though, he wasn’t able to actually live aboard the orbiting outpost he was working on.

“It’s funny cause when I was hired, I thought that was one of the reasons they hired me was to go live on Space Station and to have that long-duration experience based on my background in the submarine force,” Bowen told Spectrum News. “And so, this is my first opportunity to do that.”

Bowen is the only member of the Crew-6 mission who traveled to space. He logged about 47.5 days in space, during which he spent more than 47 hours across seven spacewalks.

“I helped build the Space Station. I did three construction flights, in essence. I’ve seen it and every one of my missions made me want to go back,” Bowen said. “So, I’m looking forward to having an opportunity to live onboard. It’s something I’ve wanted to do since I became an astronaut.”

Even being the only member of the Crew-6 mission with spaceflight experience, he said he has full confidence that they will have a successful six-month mission on the orbiting outpost.

“The fact they haven’t flown in space before, I think, brings to them, they have a level of excitement and enthusiasm that I’m not sure I ever had that level of excitement and enthusiasm that these three have. It’s just amazing to see and watch.”

Bowen spoke with Spectrum News’ Will Robinson-Smith in January around the date of NASA’s Day of Remembrance. He said one of his core memories was watching two of the greatest tragedies in human spaceflight history.

He was a senior at the Naval Academy when NASA lost the crew of Challenger in 1986.

“I remember what song was playing on the radio,” Bowen said. “And then coming here with the Columbia accident in 2003. And working through that, working through the recovery process.”

He said now that SpaceX has flown five crew rotation missions to the ISS along with the commercial flights of Axiom 1 and Inspiration4, Bowen said there’s a risk of some people starting to feel that this is “as becoming routine.”

“There’s nothing routine about anything we do. And it’s really important that we maintain the diligence to ensure that those lessons that we learn about every 20 years, we have taken to heart and we better understand and we continue to focus on keeping these missions safe.”

The Crew-6 commander grew up in Cohasset, Massachusetts, a small town on the opposite side of Massachusettes Bay from Boston. As a former hockey player himself, Bowen said one of the potential highlights during his time on orbit could be seeing his favorite team take home the Stanley Cup in June.

“I hope to watch the Bruins win the Stanley Cup while I’m up there, but we’ll see. Maybe the Celtics will win too. We got some good teams going.”

Pilot – Warren “Woody” Hoburg

Sitting in the pilot’s chair of the SpaceX Endeavor will be NASA astronaut Warren “Woody” Hoburg. Pittsburgh native, Hoburg was a member of the 2017 astronaut class nicknamed the “Turtles,” which completed their candidacy and joined the active astronaut corps on Jan. 10, 2020.

Once on orbit, he will follow in the footsteps of fellow Turtles Kayla Barron, Raja Chari, Bob Hines, Frank Rubio and Jessica Watkins who have all made their first trips in to space, between November 2021 and now.

Rubio has been the only member of the 2017 class to fly to the ISS aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft, with everyone else flying aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft. Rubio was part of the first seat swap of the Commercial Crew era of spaceflight and switch seats with Crew-5 cosmonaut Anna Kikina.

“The training’s been incredible and so, I feel prepared, but I also know that I’m flying into something completely unknown and I think that, just by definition brings interesting challenges,” Hoburg said during a crew press conference in January.

Hoburg has always been adventurous guy. He spent years mountain climbing across many ranges, including the iconic cliffs of Yosemite National Park in California. He spent a few years there as a seasonal member of the Yosemite Search and Rescue Team.

While he and the other four crewmembers are going to be surrounded by friends and family, Hoburg said there will be a notable absence for him.

“Unfortunately, over the summer, I lost my father. So, I’m bringing a photo of him that means a lot to me,” Hoburg said. “And I wish he could come along with me, but at least I’ll – well, I will be bringing him along with me.”

Hoburg said being an astronaut at this point in history is an incredible experience since NASA is on the cusp of sending people back to the Moon for the first time in more than 50 years. While he was in graduate school over a decade ago, he said he found himself disappointed that he seemingly missed the window of lunar exploration.

“15 years ago, I could not have imagined that 15 years later, I would be around a program, Artemis, that is going to be sending people back to the Moon in a sustainable way, setting up a continuous presence,” Hoburg said. “So, I truly think we’re living in the most exciting of times.”

He also said he’s not looking past this moment, where he is able to continue to the legacy of work aboard the International Space Station as it draws closer to the end of its working life in 2030. One of the memories he hopes to seized on while on orbit is what many aspiring astronauts dream of: going for a spacewalk.

“I’m trying not to get my hopes up about possibly getting to do an EVA, but that’s certainly on the list. But I think just when we arrive, I’m looking forward to looking out the window.”

Mission Specialist – Sultan AlNeyadi

The influence of gazing up at the stars and watching space-themed cartoons of the 80s is something that millions around the world find relatable. Crew-6 Mission Specialist Sultan AlNeyadi was able to take those childhood moments and transform it into a career as one of the first astronauts from the United Arab Emirates.

“That was the ignition towards thinking about going to space. And on top of that, I remember watching cartoons and movies about heroes traveling to other galaxies and planets,” AlNeyadi said. “So yeah, it’s definitely a childhood dream.”

Houston-based company, Axiom Space, helped broker the deal with the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre and NASA to fly a UAE astronaut to the ISS back in April 2022.

In the middle of the 2010s, the UAE decided to form its own astronaut corps. At that time, more than 4,000 people applied for the opportunity to become an astronaut and represent their country in space.

Just a handful were chosen, including AlNeyadi. He said it was a daunting long shot in his mind because unlike many other applicants, he was not a pilot.

“I remember the first time I went for the medical checkups and I remember the nurse asked them, the candidates, ‘Oh, most of you are pilots.’ And everybody raised their hand except me,” AlNeyadi said. “I was kind of hiding behind a group of people. And at that point, I kind of thought, what am I doing here?”

He said fortunately, the committee panel looking at all the candidates looked at their full resume and so, his lack of piloting wasn’t a setback.

“I was lucky enough to be a military person who served almost 20 years at that time in the military,” AlNeyadi said. “So, I built that camaraderie and physical ability on top of the academic ability as well. So, I think we were lucky enough to have an unbiased committee or panel in the selection.”

He spent the next five years after that training for his first opportunity to venture into space. AlNeyadi said one of the best parts is going to be having his daughter with him for this pivotal moment.

“She’s excited. She’s going to be attending the launch,” he said. “We always exchange calls and I give her all the updates possible every day.”

AlNeyadi said he’s looking forward to this first flight, not only because he’ll be able to celebrate his birthday while in space, but also because he has the distinction of being the first Arab astronaut to serve on a long-duration spaceflight.

“It’s a continuation towards building that enthusiasm between youngsters to seek better and seek more sophisticated education in the future,” he said.

Mission Specialist – Andrey Fedyaev

The other mission specialist flying as a member of the Crew-6 mission is Russian cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev. His journey to the ISS aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft will be just the second seat swap since SpaceX began shuttling people to and from the orbiting outpost.

The launch comes almost a year to the day that Russia invaded Ukraine, straining relations between the U.S. and Russia on the ground. In response to a question during a pre-launch press conference, Fedyaev said that they work to supersede the impacts of on-Earth conflicts for the good of the mission.

“Space cooperation has a very long history and we are setting the example of how people should be living on Earth,” Fedyaev said through the assistance of an interpreter. “The life of people in space, on the International Space Station is really setting a good example of how people should be living on Earth.”

Commander Stephen Bowen echoed the sentiment in his answer.

“Once you get to space, it’s just one crew, one vehicle and we all have the same goal,” Bowen said. “And having the opportunity to train in Russia over the past number of years, in addition to the past year, really focusing on the mission. That’s why we’re there. That’s what we’re there for.”

Like Crew-5 cosmonaut Anna Kikina, Fedyaev joined the group of active Russian cosmonauts as part of the 2012 class. He said the journey to his first mission was slightly different than those here in the U.S.

“The selection process is a little bit different, not like in the U.S. So, we don’t have like one person who names, who assigns you to flights and then says, ‘Congratulations, you’re assigned to this flight,’” Fedyaev told Spectrum News in a follow-up interview. “The training is organized in such a way that we know approximately when we’re going to fly and we just get closer and we start to realize when it will happen.”

Prior to becoming a cosmonaut, Feyaev was a military pilot and clocked more than 600 flying hours. Having trained initially for a flight aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft and now getting to fly aboard a SpaceX Dragon, he said they are quite distinct.

“In principle, you cannot compare these two vehicles because thee are 50 or 60 years between when they were designed,” he said during the press conference.

He compared the them using the metaphor of one large studio, or a one bedroom studio, or two smaller rooms, that’s the difference between Dragon and Soyuz.

The journey begins

All four will soon embark on their 182-day mission and will perform hundreds of experiments while onboard. They will also welcome several spacecraft and visitors during their time including the following:

• NET March 10 – SpX-27 (Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) mission 27)

• Mid-April – Boeing Starliner CST-100 Crew Flight Test (two astronauts)

• April 21 – Northrop Grumman’s 20^th CRS mission

• May – Axiom Mission 2 (four private astronauts)

• May – Progress spacecraft – cargo resupply mission from Russia

• June – SpX-28 (CRS-28)

• August – SpaceX Crew-7 (four crew members)

Launch of the Crew-6 mission is set for 1:45 am EST from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. They will dock with the ISS about 24 hours later and have a roughly five-day handover period with Crew-5 before they return to Earth.