The 2 crew members of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 mission launched at 1:17 p.m. EDT Saturday, for a science expedition aboard the Worldwide Area Station. That is the primary human spaceflight mission launched from Area Launch Complicated-40 at Cape Canaveral Area Pressure Station in Florida, and the company’s ninth business crew rotation mission to the house 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 Concord module at roughly 5:30 p.m., Sunday, Sept. 29, the place Hague and Gorbunov will be a part of Expedition 72 for a five-month keep aboard the orbiting laboratory.

“This mission required quite a lot of operational and planning flexibility. I congratulate the complete crew on a profitable launch at this time, and godspeed to Nick and Aleksandr as they make their solution to the house station,” mentioned NASA Administrator Invoice Nelson. “Our NASA wizards and our business and worldwide companions have proven as soon as once more the success that comes from working collectively and adapting to altering circumstances with out sacrificing the protected {and professional} operations of the Worldwide Area Station.”

Throughout Dragon’s flight, SpaceX will monitor a sequence of computerized spacecraft maneuvers from its mission management middle in Hawthorne, California. NASA will monitor house station operations all through the flight from the Mission Management Heart on the company’s Johnson Area Heart in Houston.

NASA will present stay protection of rendezvous, docking, and hatch opening, starting at 3:30 p.m., Sept. 29, on NASA+ and the company’s web site. NASA additionally will broadcast the crew welcome ceremony as soon as Hague and Gorbunov are aboard the orbital outpost. Discover ways to stream NASA content material via a wide range of platforms, together with social media.

The duo will be a part of the house station’s Expedition 72 crew of NASA astronauts Michael Barratt, Matthew Dominick, Jeanette Epps, Don Pettit, Butch Wilmore, and Suni Williams, in addition to Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexander Grebenkin, Alexey Ovchinin, and Ivan Vagner. The variety of crew aboard the house station will enhance to 11 for a short while till Crew-8 members Barratt, Dominick, Epps, and Grebenkin depart the house station in early October.

The crewmates will conduct greater than 200 scientific investigations, together with blood clotting research, moisture results on vegetation grown in house, and imaginative and prescient modifications in astronauts throughout their mission. Following their keep aboard the house station, Hague and Gorbunov might be joined by Williams and Wilmore to return to Earth in February 2025.

With this mission, NASA continues to maximise the usage of the orbiting laboratory, the place folks have lived and labored constantly for greater than 23 years, testing applied sciences, performing science, and growing the talents wanted to function future business locations in low Earth orbit and discover farther from Earth. Analysis carried out on the house station advantages folks on Earth and paves the best way for future long-duration missions to the Moon beneath NASA’s Artemis marketing campaign, and past.

Extra about Crew-9

Hague is the commander of Crew-9 and is making his second journey to the orbital outpost since his choice as an astronaut in 2013. He’ll function a mission specialist throughout Expedition 72/73 aboard the house station. Observe @AstroHague on X and Instagram.

Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov is flying on his first mission. He’ll function a flight engineer throughout Expeditions 72/73.

Study extra about NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 mission and the company’s Business Crew Program at:

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Josh Finch / Jimi Russell
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1100
joshua.a.finch@nasa.gov / james.j.russell@nasa.gov

Steven Siceloff / Danielle Sempsrott / Stephanie Plucinsky
Kennedy Area Heart, Florida
321-867-2468
steven.p.siceloff@nasa.gov / danielle.c.semprott@nasa.gov / stephanie.n.plucinsky@nasa.gov

Leah Cheshier / Sandra Jones
Johnson Area Heart, Houston
281-483-5111
leah.d.cheshier@nasa.gov / sandra.p.jones@nasa.gov