SpaceX crewed mission successfully docked with the International Space Station (ISS) on Sunday, as shown in a live stream of the event. This mission is particularly significant as it will return two astronauts who were stranded on the ISS.The Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, at 1:17 PM (1717 GMT) on Saturday. The Crew-9 mission, utilizing a Dragon spacecraft, made contact with the ISS at 5:30 PM on Sunday.
Astronauts on Board
Following the successful docking, NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Gorbunov entered the space station shortly after 7:00 PM, warmly greeting their fellow crew members. “What a fabulous day it was today,” stated NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy during a news conference.
Stranded Astronauts Returning Home
In February, Hague and Gorbunov will bring back two experienced astronauts, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams. Their extended stay on the ISS was due to issues with their Boeing-designed Starliner spacecraft, which was supposed to return them sooner.
Starliner Challenges
The Starliner, which was making its first crewed flight, delivered Wilmore and Williams to the ISS in June for what was initially planned as an eight-day mission. However, complications with the spacecraft’s propulsion system required NASA to reconsider their plans. After thorough testing of the Starliner’s reliability, NASA ultimately decided to bring the two stranded astronauts home via the SpaceX Crew-9 mission.
SpaceX’s Regular Missions
SpaceX, founded by billionaire Elon Musk, has been conducting regular crew rotation missions to the ISS approximately every six months. The launch of Crew-9 was originally scheduled for mid-August but was postponed until late September to allow NASA time to assess the Starliner’s reliability. Further delays were caused by Hurricane Helene, which impacted Florida.
Time in Space
In total, Hague and Gorbunov are expected to spend around five months aboard the ISS, while Wilmore and Williams will have spent eight months in space by the time they return.
Scientific Research
Throughout the duration of the Crew-9 mission, approximately 200 scientific experiments will be conducted on the ISS, contributing to various fields of research. This summary captures the key points from the original article while maintaining clarity and coherence.
Contact confirmed at 5:30pm ET (2130 UTC). Next, the Dragon spacecraft will complete the docking sequence, and undergo a series of checks before crews can open the hatch and welcome #Crew9 to the @Space_Station. pic.twitter.com/y3ve8FLBqs
— NASA (@NASA) September 29, 2024