NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 Crew Adjusts Before September Launch
NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 comprises Nick Hague and Aleksandr Gorbunov. Reassigning Zena Cardman and Stephanie Wilson.
NASA confirmed that astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov would fly aboard SpaceX Crew-9 to the ISS on Tuesday, September 24, 2024. This update follows mission crew changes. NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Stephanie Wilson also participated in Crew-9, but they may now be assigned to future missions.
Latest Crew and Mission Changes
SpaceX Crew-9 will now be flown by a two-person crew on a SpaceX Dragon. Nick Hague will lead and Aleksandr Gorbunov will specialize. After NASA returned its Boeing Crew Flight Test uncrewed, Crew-9 had two empty seats. Joe Acaba, NASA’s Johnson Space Center Chief Astronaut, took the choice to guarantee a balanced crew with mission-critical experience and integration.
Joe Acaba said reducing the team was difficult. Adjusting to a smaller crew was tough after training as a four-person squad. Acaba was confident in the crew’s ability, saying Zena Cardman and Stephanie Wilson would encourage them before the expedition. Cardman and Wilson are devoted to the mission’s success and eager for future spaceflights.
Future Mission and Crew Profiles
Hague will make his third spaceflight. A rocket failure forced an emergency landing on his October 2018 launch, but his March 2019 flight was successful. Hague completed three spacewalks on the ISS to upgrade power systems and install a commercial spacecraft docking adaptor. After working on the Boeing Starliner Program, Space Force Colonel Hague will return to NASA.
Astronaut Aleksandr Gorbunov will make his space debut. Gorbunov, from Zheleznogorsk, Russia, studied spacecraft engineering and aviation maintenance at the Moscow Aviation Institute and worked for Rocket Space Corp. Energia. He supported cargo spacecraft launches from Baikonur Cosmodrome before becoming a cosmonaut in 2018.
In orbit, Hague and Gorbunov will join Expedition 72 on the ISS. They will collaborate with Butch Wilmore, Suni Williams, NASA astronaut Don Pettit, and Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner. As the ISS enters its 24th year of human occupancy, they will conduct scientific research and maintenance.
CREDIT: Allneeds, Gadgets360
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