On 23 March 2022, it was announced that Dragon C212 had been given the name Freedom. Astronaut Kjell Lindgren said that the name was chosen because it celebrates a fundamental human right, and the industry and innovation that emanate from the unencumbered human spirit.[3] The name also honors Freedom 7, the space capsule used by Alan Shepard's Mercury Redstone 3, the first United States human spaceflight mission (May 5, 1961).[4]
On 16 April 2022, Freedom was transported from SpaceX's processing facility in Cape Canaveral to Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center.[5]Freedom's maiden flight, SpaceX Crew-4, was originally scheduled for 20 April 2022 but was delayed to 23 April due to launch preparations.[6] The mission was later delayed again because the docking port needed for arrival (Harmony zenith port) was occupied by Crew Dragon Endeavour on Axiom Mission 1 (Ax-1). Ax-1's departure, originally set for 19 April, was delayed until 25 April due to bad weather in the recovery zones in the Atlantic Ocean.[7]Freedom successfully launched for SpaceX Crew-4 on 27 April 2022.[8]