GUWAHATI: NASA has announced that the SpaceX Crew-9 mission to the International Space Station (ISS) is scheduled to launch no earlier than Thursday, September 26 at 11:35 PM IST from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, with backup dates on September 27 and 28.
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This mission will be the first human spaceflight launch from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
The Crew-9 mission will carry two astronauts: NASA’s Nick Hague and Roscosmos Cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov. Hague, an experienced astronaut with 203 days in space and three spacewalks, will serve as the mission commander. This will be his third spaceflight and second mission to the ISS. Meanwhile, Gorbunov will be making his first spaceflight as a mission specialist.
In addition, Crew-9's launch will also be the return trip for astronauts Sunita Williams and Barry Wilmore, who have been aboard the ISS since June 5 as part of Boeing's Crew Flight Test. Due to technical issues with the Starliner spacecraft, NASA opted to use SpaceX’s Dragon capsule for their return. Williams and Wilmore are expected to remain on the ISS until February 2025, once Hague and Gorbunov complete their six-month mission.
Typically, crew rotation missions involve four astronauts living and working in space for six months. However, Crew-9 will have only two crew members, as two seats are reserved for Williams and her colleague Barry Wilmore.
NASA is continuing to monitor weather conditions and hardware processing ahead of the launch. The Crew-9 team is expected to arrive at the Kennedy Space Center planned for Saturday, September 21.
As per the post, “NASA and SpaceX are targeting no earlier than Thursday, Sept. 26 for the launch of the #Crew9 mission to the @Space_Station, with back-up dates on Friday, Sept. 27 and Saturday, Sept. 28. Joint teams continue to work through prelaunch operations and hardware processing ahead of the first human spaceflight launch from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, while also monitoring weather ahead of liftoff. Crew arrival at @NASAKennedy is now planned for Saturday, Sept. 21. NASA will share additional details when available.”