NASA announced the four members of the SpaceX Crew-14 mission to the International Space Station on September 24, 2026. Kayla Barron will serve as spacecraft commander, Chris Birch as pilot, and JAXA astronaut Makoto Suwa and Roscosmos cosmonaut Arutyun Kiviryan as mission specialists. The agency said the mission will launch no earlier than spring 2027 in the Northern Hemisphere, without announcing an exact date.
That is the key status for anyone checking the Crew-14 schedule: the crew has been assigned and mission planning has advanced, but the timeline has not yet reached the point of a confirmed launch day and time. After docking with the station, the four crew members are expected to join Expeditions 75/76 for a long-duration science expedition.
Who are the four Crew-14 members?
| Crew member | Agency | Crew-14 role | Flight experience |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kayla Barron | NASA | Commander | Second spaceflight. Flew on Crew-3 and spent 177 days in orbit. |
| Chris Birch | NASA | Pilot | First spaceflight. |
| Makoto Suwa | JAXA | Mission specialist | First spaceflight. |
| Arutyun Kiviryan | Roscosmos | Mission specialist | First spaceflight and first trip to the International Space Station. |
Kayla Barron, commander
Barron was selected by NASA in 2017 and already has experience on a long-duration mission. She flew on Crew-3, launched in November 2021, and worked as part of Expeditions 66/67. According to NASA, she accumulated 177 days in orbit, completed two spacewalks, and served as lead robotics operator for another extravehicular activity. Before becoming an astronaut, she earned a systems engineering degree from the U.S. Naval Academy, a master's degree in nuclear engineering from the University of Cambridge, and served as a submarine warfare officer in the U.S. Navy.
On Crew-14, Barron will serve as spacecraft commander. She is the only member of the announced crew with previous spaceflight experience, giving her direct experience from an earlier commercial crew rotation to the station.
Chris Birch, pilot
Chris, or Christina, Birch was selected for NASA's astronaut corps in 2021. She earned degrees in mathematics and in biochemistry and molecular biophysics from the University of Arizona and a doctorate in biological engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Before joining NASA, she taught bioengineering and scientific communication and also competed as a track cyclist on the U.S. National Team.
NASA says Birch has served as a capsule communicator, supported crews aboard the station and the Artemis II mission, worked as crew lead for Expedition 72, and represented the astronaut office in the Orion Program. Crew-14 will be her first spaceflight, and she has been assigned as pilot.
Makoto Suwa, mission specialist
Makoto Suwa was certified as a JAXA astronaut in October 2024 after beginning basic training in 2023. Before his space career, he spent nearly a decade at the World Bank Group and also worked with the World Meteorological Organization and as an international cooperation volunteer in Rwanda. He holds a doctorate in geosciences from Princeton University.
JAXA had already identified Suwa for a long-duration International Space Station mission planned for 2027. With NASA's announcement, that assignment is now publicly tied to Crew-14. It will be Suwa's first spaceflight, and he will serve as a mission specialist.
Arutyun Kiviryan, mission specialist
Arutyun Kiviryan is a member of the Roscosmos cosmonaut corps. He trained as an engineer specializing in rocket construction and received the qualification of test cosmonaut in 2023 after completing basic spaceflight training. The Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center states that Kiviryan has no previous spaceflight experience.
In 2026, Kiviryan had been training as a member of the Crew-13 backup crew, giving him mission-specific preparation related to Crew Dragon and International Space Station operations. For Crew-14, he was announced as a mission specialist. NASA describes the mission as his first trip to the station.
When is Crew-14 expected to take place?
NASA's official wording is specific: the mission is expected to launch no earlier than spring 2027. Because the announcement comes from a U.S. agency, the seasonal reference is to spring in the Northern Hemisphere. The release does not specify a month, day, or time, so that forecast should not be converted into a fixed launch date.
The crew assignment release also does not provide a numerical duration for the stay in orbit or a return date. NASA describes it as a long-duration science expedition. Crew-14 will be the 14th commercial crew rotation with SpaceX under NASA's Low Earth Orbit Program.
Confirmed Crew-14 timeline
- September 24, 2026: NASA officially announces the four crew members and their roles on Crew-14.
- Current phase: the crew is already shown in preflight training at a SpaceX facility in Hawthorne, California. Official biographies also document mission and station-specific preparation.
- No earlier than spring 2027: this is the only public launch-calendar reference in NASA's crew assignment announcement.
- After docking: Barron, Birch, Suwa, and Kiviryan are expected to join International Space Station Expeditions 75/76.
What Crew-14 will do aboard the International Space Station
According to NASA, the crew will take part in scientific investigations and technology demonstrations during its stay aboard the station. The agency links this work both to research benefits in low Earth orbit and to preparations for future human missions to the Moon and Mars.
The September 24 announcement does not provide a list of specific experiments assigned to the four crew members. A detailed Crew-14 research manifest therefore still depends on future releases from NASA and its partners. What is confirmed now is the long-duration nature of the expedition and the crew's planned integration into Expeditions 75/76.
What has not yet been confirmed
- The exact launch date and time.
- A detailed launch window within 2027.
- The mission's exact duration in days.
- The crew's return date.
- The final list of scientific investigations and technology demonstrations specifically assigned to Crew-14.
Those details should not be filled in by extrapolating from earlier missions. The latest official calendar statement remains “no earlier than spring 2027.”
Where to follow the next updates
Schedule changes and operational milestones should be followed through official NASA channels, especially the Commercial Crew Program page and NASA news releases. JAXA maintains Makoto Suwa's astronaut page, while the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center publishes information about Arutyun Kiviryan's preparation. Until NASA publishes a more precise window, Crew-14 should be treated as a mission planned for no earlier than spring 2027, with no confirmed launch day.
