NASA has announced that astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov will launch on the SpaceX Crew-9 mission to the International Space Station (ISS) no earlier than Tuesday, September 24, 2024. This update comes after changes to the mission’s crew roster. Initially, NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Stephanie Wilson were also part of the Crew-9 team, but they could now be reassigned to future missions.
Updated Crew and Mission Changes
The upcoming SpaceX Crew-9 mission will now operate with a two-person crew aboard the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft. Nick Hague will serve as mission commander, while Aleksandr Gorbunov will assume the role of mission specialist. The change follows NASA’s decision to return the agency’s Boeing Crew Flight Test without a crew, freeing up two spots on Crew-9. NASA’s decision was made by Joe Acaba, chief astronaut at NASA’s Johnson Space Center, who needed to ensure a balanced crew with the necessary experience and integration for the mission.
Joe Acaba explained that the decision to reduce the crew size was difficult. The crew trained as a team of four, and adjusting to a smaller crew was not without its challenges. Still, Acaba expressed confidence in the crew’s capabilities, noting that Zena Cardman and Stephanie Wilson will continue to support their colleagues as they prepare for the mission. Both Cardman and Wilson remain committed to the mission’s success and look forward to participating in future spaceflights.
Crew Profiles and Upcoming Missions
Nick Hague is set to make his third spaceflight. His previous missions include a difficult launch in October 2018 that involved an emergency landing after a rocket failure, and a later successful mission in March 2019. While on the ISS, Hague completed three spacewalks to upgrade the space station’s power systems and install a docking adapter for commercial spacecraft. Hague, a serving colonel in the U.S. Space Force, will return to NASA after contributing to the Boeing Starliner program.
Aleksandr Gorbunov will be flying his first space mission. Gorbunov, originally from Zheleznogorsk, Russia, has experience in spacecraft engineering and aircraft maintenance from his studies at the Moscow Aviation Institute and work at Rocket Space Corp. Energia. His experience includes supporting launches of spacecraft with cargo from the Baikonur Cosmodrome before being selected as a cosmonaut in 2018.
Once in space, Hague and Gorbunov will join Expedition 72 aboard the ISS. They will work alongside Butch Wilmore, Suni Williams, NASA astronaut Don Pettit, and Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexei Ovchinin and Ivan Wagner. Their mission will focus on science and conservation as the ISS continues its 24-year history of uninterrupted human habitation.
