September 28th 2024.
On Saturday at 1:17 p.m. EDT, NASA and SpaceX will embark on a monumental mission to the International Space Station. This mission, dubbed Crew-9, will include an astronaut and a cosmonaut, with the goal of bringing back two stranded individuals, Indian-Origin Sunita Williams and Butch Willmore, to Earth in February of next year.
The launch is scheduled to take place at Space Launch Complex-40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, making it the first human spaceflight mission to launch from that pad. Originally planned for Thursday, the launch was postponed due to poor weather conditions caused by hurricane Helene in the Gulf Coast of Florida.
The Crew-9 mission will carry NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov to the International Space Station for a five-month science mission. They will return to Earth in February, accompanied by Williams and Willmore, who have been stuck on the ISS since their eight-day sojourn on the faulty Boeing's Starliner.
Despite the Starliner being deemed unfit for human travel by NASA, Williams and Willmore were able to return safely to Earth. However, they were unable to leave the ISS due to the lack of a functional spacecraft to transport them. To make room for their return, NASA removed two other Crew-9 members, commander Zena Cardman and three-time shuttle flier Stephanie Wilson.
The Flight Readiness Review has confirmed that all systems are "go" for the launch, ensuring the safety of the Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft. This will be the first time since the test flight in May 2020 that SpaceX will be launching two astronauts to the ISS on a Dragon spacecraft.
In preparation for their arrival, the Crew-9 mission will fly with two empty seats in order to make room for Williams and Willmore. These seats will be filled with extra cargo and supplies, including a new Dragon spacesuit for Wilmore. The targeted docking time for the Crew-9 mission is approximately 5:30 p.m. on Sunday, according to NASA.
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