WASHINGTON, Sept. 28,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The two crew members of NASA's
SpaceX Crew-9 mission launched at 1:17 p.m.
EDT Saturday, for a science expedition aboard the
International Space Station. This is the first human spaceflight
mission launched from Space Launch Complex-40 at Cape Canaveral
Space Force Station in Florida,
and the agency's ninth commercial crew rotation mission to the
space station.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket propelled the Dragon spacecraft into
orbit carrying NASA astronaut Nick
Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov. The spacecraft will dock
autonomously to the forward-facing port of the station's Harmony
module at approximately 5:30 p.m. Sunday,
Sept. 29, where Hague and Gorbunov will join Expedition
72 for a five-month stay aboard the orbiting laboratory.
"This mission required a lot of operational and planning
flexibility. I congratulate the entire team on a successful launch
today, and godspeed to Nick and Aleksandr as they make their
way to the space station," said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. "Our NASA wizards and our
commercial and international partners have shown once again the
success that comes from working together and adapting to changing
circumstances without sacrificing the safe and professional
operations of the International Space Station."
During Dragon's flight, SpaceX will monitor a series of
automatic spacecraft maneuvers from its mission control center in
Hawthorne, California. NASA will
monitor space station operations throughout the flight from the
Mission Control Center at the agency's Johnson Space Center in
Houston.
NASA will provide live coverage of rendezvous, docking, and
hatch opening, beginning at 3:30 p.m., Sept. 29, on NASA+ and the agency's website.
NASA also will broadcast the crew welcome ceremony once Hague and
Gorbunov are aboard the orbital outpost. Learn how to stream NASA
content through a variety of platforms, including social
media.
The duo will join the space station's Expedition 72 crew of NASA
astronauts Michael Barratt, Matthew
Dominick, Jeanette Epps,
Don Pettit, Butch Wilmore, and Suni
Williams, as well as Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexander
Grebenkin, Alexey Ovchinin, and Ivan
Vagner. The number of crew aboard the space station will
increase to 11 for a short time until Crew-8 members Barratt,
Dominick, Epps, and Grebenkin depart the space station in early
October.
The crewmates will conduct more than 200 scientific
investigations, including blood clotting studies, moisture effects
on plants grown in space, and vision changes in astronauts during
their mission. Following their stay aboard the space station, Hague
and Gorbunov will be joined by Williams and Wilmore to return to
Earth in February 2025.
With this mission, NASA continues to maximize the use of the
orbiting laboratory, where people have lived and worked
continuously for more than 23 years, testing technologies,
performing science, and developing the skills needed to operate
future commercial destinations in low Earth orbit and explore
farther from Earth. Research conducted at the space station
benefits people on Earth and paves the way for future long-duration
missions to the Moon under NASA's Artemis campaign, and beyond.
More about Crew-9
Hague is the commander of Crew-9 and is making his second trip
to the orbital outpost since his selection as an astronaut in 2013.
He will serve as a mission specialist during Expedition 72/73
aboard the space station. Follow @AstroHague on X and
Instagram.
Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr
Gorbunov is flying on his first mission. He will serve as a
flight engineer during Expeditions 72/73.
Learn more about NASA's SpaceX Crew-9 mission and the
agency's Commercial Crew Program at:
https://www.nasa.gov/commercialcrew
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SOURCE NASA