Nasa and SpaceX are gearing up for the launch of the Crew-9 mission to the International Space Station, which is tentatively scheduled for September 26t. The mission will count with two astronauts, Nick Hague from Nasa and Aleksandr Gorbunov from Roscosmos, although there are two spare seats for astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Willmore.
Tropical Cyclone Nine, which is heading towards the Gulf of Mexico and Florida, could, however, impact the launch.
NASA’s Flight Readiness Review at Cape Kennedy Space Center assessed that SpaceX crew transportation system and ISS have been achieved. Stationed for the mission, the astronauts will stay in orbit for about five months and conduct experiments and also maintenance work onboard the space station.
On September 24, a Falcon 9 missile will be dispatched to Cape Canaveral Space Force Station for a static fire test. A final dove cm rehearsal to practice the operations of launching that day will also be conducted.
The 45th Weather Squadron of the US Space Force and SpaceX crew are paying active attention to Tropical Cyclone Nine. The storm could possibly affect the campaign, and so assessments will still be conducted as the launch day approaches.
Hague will be the mission commander during this mission, while Gorbunov will be working as the mission specialist. “As they say with this specific mission, it is to be able to undertake some useful research and experiments at the International Space Station,” stated the authorities.
The target launch date was primarily dependent on the weather.
Why is Sunita Williams stuck in space?
Since the commencement of the mission planning, Sunita Williams, along with her mission partner for the ISS, Butch Wilmore, have been already inside the ISS since 2024. But their stay on the station was prolonged to February 2025 as well.
The primary cause of this extension was the technical troubles caused with Boeing Starliner and the delays because of a lot of system failures which would have been too dangerous for their retrieval. Thus it was resolved to bring them back in 2025, inside a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule instead. This also meant that the astronauts would have to spend 8 months more than envisaged, till February, onboard the ISS.
As it is maintained by the Nasa officials, accomplish the goals with utmost regard to safety for all involved. Nasa Administrator Bill Nelson then buttressed with the excerpt that “The decision to keep Butch and Suni aboard the International Space Station and return Boeing’s Starliner undercover without any crew onboard was a choice based on safety.”
