Backup for Soyuz MS-22 Crew Return
A micro-meteorite punctured a 0.8 mm diameter (0.031 in) hole in the radiator of Soyuz MS-22, raising doubts over its safety. As a result, it was replaced with Soyuz MS-23, launched uncrewed on 24 February 2023.

Until the replacement MS-23 docked to ISS, SpaceX Crew-5 was considered among the options to return the MS-22 crew in case of emergency. SpaceX originally designed Crew Dragon to host a crew of seven at a time. The International Space Station mission management team decided to move NASA astronaut Francisco Rubio's Soyuz seat liner from the Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft to Dragon Endurance to provide lifeboat capabilities in the event Rubio needed to return to Earth because of an emergency evacuation from the space station. The seat liner was moved on 17 January 2023, with installation and configuration continuing the following day. Seat liners have been swapped between two Soyuz, but this was the first time for Soyuz to Crew Dragon. The change allowed for increased crew protection by reducing the heat load inside the MS-22 spacecraft for cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitry Petelin in the event of an emergency return to Earth. The SpaceX Crew-6 space capsule is designed to bring back crew serving as an emergency evacuation option after Crew-5.

As MS-23 arrived at the space station on 26 February, Rubio's seat liner was transferred to the new Soyuz on 6 March, and the seat liners for Prokopyev and Petelin were moved from MS-22 to MS-23 on 2 March ahead of their return in the Soyuz.

Names USCV-5
Mission type ISS crew transport
Operator SpaceX
COSPAR ID 2022-124A
SATCAT no. 53963
Mission duration 157 days, 10 hours, 1 minute
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft Crew Dragon Endurance
Spacecraft type Crew Dragon
Manufacturer SpaceX
Launch mass 12,519 kg (27,600 lb)
Landing mass 9,616 kg (21,200 lb)
Crew
Crew size 4
Members
Nicole Mann
Josh Cassada
Koichi Wakata
Anna Kikina
Expedition Expedition 68
Start of mission
Launch date not a number value UTC (12:00:57 pm EDT)
Rocket Falcon 9 Block 5 (B1077.1), Flight 178
Launch site Kennedy, LC‑39A
End of mission
Recovered by MV Shannon
Landing date 12 March 2023, 02:02 UTC (9:02 pm EST)
Landing site Gulf of Mexico, near Clearwater, Florida
Orbital parameters
Reference system Geocentric orbit
Regime Low Earth orbit
Inclination 51.68°
Docking with ISS
Docking port Harmony forward
Docking date 6 October 2022, 21:01 UTC
Undocking date 11 March 2023, 07:20 UTC
Time docked 155 days, 10 hours, 19 minutes

SpaceX Crew-5 was the fifth operational NASA Commercial Crew Program flight of a Crew Dragon spacecraft, and the eighth overall crewed orbital flight. The mission was successfully launched on 5 October 2022 with the aim of transporting four crew members to the International Space Station (ISS). The Crew Dragon spacecraft docked at the ISS on 6 October 2022 at 21:01 UTC.

The crew for this mission comprised two NASA astronauts, one JAXA astronaut, and one Russian cosmonaut. Three of the crew members were assigned to this mission due to delays in Boeing's Starliner program. Commander Nicole Mann was reassigned from Boeing's Boe-CFT mission, while pilot Josh Cassada and mission specialist Koichi Wakata transferred from Boeing Starliner-1. Anna Kikina was reassigned from Soyuz MS-22.

Among the crew members, three were embarking on their first spaceflight, while mission specialist Koichi Wakata is a veteran of four previous spaceflights.