SpaceX launches Crew-9 to ISS after delay from hurricane Helene
From Cape Canaveral in the USA, the SpaceX Crew-9 spaceship with NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Gorbunov launched on Saturday to the International Space Station (ISS). This ship will return to Earth in February, and two other astronauts have been on the ISS since June.
The launch occurred after multiple rescheduling (most recently due to Hurricane Helene) from the Space Launch Complex-40 platform. This is the first manned space mission launched from this location.
Crew-9 is expected to dock at the ISS on Sunday at 5:30 PM Eastern Time.
Upon arrival at the International Space Station (ISS), Hague and Gorbunov will conduct a five-month scientific mission. After completing the mission, they will return to Earth with American astronauts Barry Wilmore and Sunita Williams, who arrived at the ISS in June aboard Boeing's Starliner spacecraft.
They were supposed to spend seven days on the ISS but will stay for nine months
Wilmore and Williams were scheduled to return to Earth after seven days, but due to technical issues with the capsule, NASA decided they will stay in space until February 2025. The Starliner capsule returned to Earth without a crew on September 7th.
Due to this situation, NASA limited the crew composition. Originally designated for the scientific mission, Zena Cardman and Stephanie Wilson were excluded from it. They are scheduled to fly to the ISS with the next crew.
