NASA names Crew-14 quartet for 2027 SpaceX flight to space station
NASA has selected Kayla Barron, Chris Birch, Makoto Suwa, and Arutyun Kiviryan for SpaceX Crew-14. The mission is planned for spring 2027 and will join Expedition 75/76 for long-duration research. Barron has flown before, while the other three are first-time spaceflyers.
NASA’s Crew-14 roster pairs one veteran with three rookies. Kayla Barron previously spent 177 days aboard the station after launching on Crew-3 in November 2021; she performed two spacewalks and served as lead robotics operator. She will command this flight.
Chris Birch, a former national-team track cyclist and MIT biological engineering PhD, joined NASA in 2021 and has worked as a capsule communicator and Expedition 72 crew lead. JAXA astronaut Makoto Suwa and Roscosmos cosmonaut Arutyun Kiviryan will serve as mission specialists. Launch is targeted for spring 2027.
The mission may sustain public interest in human spaceflight and international collaboration. Researchers could benefit from long-duration experiments, while Japan and Russia’s participation may reinforce the station as a shared scientific platform. Aspiring astronauts and students might see diverse pathways—military, engineering, athletics, academia—into space. SpaceX’s role could further normalize commercial transport for government crews. These effects are likely incremental, not immediate.