SpaceX Launches Crew-9 to Rescue Stranded Starliner Astronauts
The mission will bring two NASA astronauts back to Earth in February after their Boeing spacecraft encountered issues.
Overview
- SpaceX's Crew-9 mission launched from Cape Canaveral's SLC-40, marking the first crewed flight from this pad.
- NASA astronauts Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov will spend five months on the ISS.
- The mission was modified to include only two crew members to accommodate the return of Starliner astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams.
- Wilmore and Williams have been on the ISS since June due to thruster issues with Boeing's Starliner capsule.
- Crew-9 will dock with the ISS on September 29, with Hague and Gorbunov integrating Wilmore and Williams into Dragon operations.