The Deputy Director of NASA expressed deep appreciation for SpaceX’s support and flexibility in this operation.
On September 28, SpaceX successfully launched the Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida (USA), carrying the Dragon spacecraft and the Crew-9 crew to the International Space Station (ISS).
Sunita Williams, one of the two astronauts stranded on the ISS – (Photo: businesstoday).
In addition to deploying the Crew-9 crew, this mission also aimed to “rescue” American astronauts stranded at the ISS and bring them back to Earth. This marks the first use of the new Falcon 9 launch pad for a crewed mission, marking a significant milestone in space exploration.
After the launch, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson shared his excitement on social media platform X: “Congratulations to NASA and SpaceX on a successful launch. We are entering an inspiring era of exploration and innovation among the stars.”
The Crew-9 flight included two astronauts: Nick Hague from NASA and Alexander Gorbunov from Russia. When returning to Earth in February 2025, Crew-9 is expected to bring back veteran astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams, who have had to stay longer than planned at the ISS due to an issue with Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft.
Initially, astronauts Wilmore and Williams were only scheduled to stay at the ISS for 8 days after being sent up by the Starliner spacecraft in June. However, an engine issue with the Starliner forced NASA to adjust their plans and extend their stay at the ISS.
After several weeks of testing and evaluation, NASA decided to bring the Starliner back to Earth without a crew, while using SpaceX’s Crew-9 mission to safely return these two astronauts.
Jim Free, NASA’s Deputy Administrator, stated: “This is a special mission, as we had to adjust our original plan, reducing the crew from 4 astronauts to 2. We greatly appreciate the support and flexibility from SpaceX in this operation.”
The Crew-9 mission was delayed from mid-August to late September to allow NASA more time to assess the reliability of the Starliner and make a final decision. Additionally, impacts from Hurricane Helene in Florida also caused the mission to be postponed by several days.
The Dragon spacecraft from SpaceX is expected to dock with the ISS on the evening of September 29 (GMT). After completing their mission handover, the 4 members of Crew-8 will return to Earth on a different SpaceX spacecraft.
During the Crew-9 mission, astronauts Hague and Gorbunov will remain on the ISS for approximately 5 months, while their colleagues Wilmore and Williams have already spent 8 months on the station.
Crew-9 is set to conduct around 200 scientific experiments during their time on the ISS, with hopes of unlocking new discoveries for humanity.
