NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 mission adjusts crew for September launch

NASA has announced that astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov will launch on the SpaceX Crew-9 mission to the International Space Station (ISS) no earlier than Tuesday, September 24, 2024. The update follows changes to the mission’s crew composition. NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Stephanie Wilson were also originally scheduled to be part of the Crew-9 team, but they are now being considered for redeployment to future missions.

Updated crew and mission adjustments

The upcoming SpaceX Crew-9 mission will now be conducted with a two-person crew aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft. Nick Haag will serve as mission commander, while Aleksandr Gorbunov will assume the role of mission specialist. The adjustment follows NASA’s decision to return the agency’s Boeing Crew Flight Test unmanned, which left two vacant seats on Crew-9. NASA’s decision was made by Joe Acaba, Chief Astronaut at NASA’s Johnson Space Center, who was tasked with ensuring a balanced crew with essential experience and integration for the mission.

Joe Acaba explained that the decision to reduce the crew size was a challenge. The crew had been trained as a team of four, and adjusting to a smaller crew size presented its own challenges. Despite this, Acaba expressed confidence in the crew’s capabilities, noting that Zena Cardman and Stephanie Wilson would continue to support their colleagues as they prepared for the mission. Both Cardman and Wilson remain committed to the mission‘s success and look forward to participating in future space flights.

Crew Profiles and Upcoming Mission

Nick Hague is set to embark on his third spaceflight. His previous missions include a challenging launch in October 2018, which involved an emergency landing after a rocket failure, and a subsequent successful mission in March 2019. During his time on the ISS, Hague conducted three spacewalks, focused on upgrading the space station’s power systems and installing a docking adapter for commercial spacecraft. Hague, an active-duty colonel in the U.S. Space Force, is returning to NASA after serving on the Boeing Starliner program.

Aleksandr Gorbunov is heading on his first space mission. Born in Zheleznogorsk, Russia, Gorbunov has a background in aerospace engineering and aircraft maintenance, having studied at the Moscow Aviation Institute and worked at Rocket Space Corp. Energia. His experience includes supporting cargo space launches from the Baikonur Cosmodrome before being selected as a cosmonaut in 2018.

Once in space, Hague and Gorbunov will join Expedition 72 aboard the ISS. They will work with Butch Wilmore, Suni Williams, NASA astronaut Don Pettit, and Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner. Their mission will focus on scientific research and maintenance as the ISS continues its 24-year history of continuous human habitation.