SpaceX Crew-9

The mission was initially planned to transport four crew members—NASA astronauts Zena Cardman, Nick Hague, and Stephanie Wilson, along with Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov—to the International Space Station (ISS). Cardman was assigned to be the commander and Hague the pilot, while Wilson and Gorbunov would serve as mission specialists.^[2] However, due to technical issues with the Boeing Starliner, NASA decided to return the Starliner uncrewed and launch Crew-9 with two open seats to return the Boeing Crew Flight Test astronauts to Earth.^[3]

On 24 August, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, along with a panel of agency officials, announced that the Boeing Starliner would return uncrewed, with its astronauts returning on Crew-9. Later, on 30 August, NASA announced that Hague and Gorbunov will fly on Crew-9 with Hague serving as commander. Gorbunov was required to fly as part of a NASA-Roscosmos crew interchange agreement.^[4] Prior to the official announcement, Ars Technica reported that there was disagreement within NASA over who should fill the commander's seat in those six days. According to the reporting, NASA Chief Astronaut, Joe Acaba had initially selected Cardman to continue as commander, which had been met with some concerns in the astronaut office, stemming from NASA's history of never launching a mission without a test pilot or experienced astronaut in command. Both Cardman and Gorbunov are rookie astronauts who have never served as a test pilot. Hague, on the other hand, has prior spaceflight experience and is one of the few individuals who have survived a launch abort with Soyuz MS-10.^[5]

Following the crew changes, SpaceX, NASA, Cardman, Hague, Wilson, and Gorbunov collaborated for three weeks to identify how Hague could assume many of the tasks typically divided between the commander and pilot, and determine which tasks could be assigned to Gorbunov, who would sit in the pilot's seat during launch. While Gorbunov is a qualified engineer and holds the rank of test cosmonaut (making him eligible to be a Soyuz commander), he had only previously received basic training on the Dragon in his role as a mission specialist.^[6] Although only serving in a limited capacity, Gorbunov will be the first Russian cosmonaut to be at the controls of an American spacecraft.

Position	Launching crew	Landing crew
Commander	Nick Hague, NASA Expedition 72 Second[a] spaceflight
Mission Specialist	Aleksandr Gorbunov, Roscosmos Expedition 72 First spaceflight
Mission Specialist	None	Barry E. Wilmore, NASA Expedition 71/72 Third spaceflight Launched on Boeing Crew Flight Test
Mission Specialist	None	Sunita Williams, NASA Expedition 71/72 Third spaceflight Launched on Boeing Crew Flight Test

 

Position[2]	Crew
Commander	Zena Cardman, NASA Expedition 71/72 Would have been first spaceflight
Pilot	Nick Hague, NASA Expedition 71/72 Second[a] spaceflight
Mission Specialist 1	Stephanie Wilson, NASA Expedition 71/72 Would have been fourth spaceflight
Mission Specialist 2	Aleksandr Gorbunov, Roscosmos Expedition 71/72 First spaceflight

SpaceX Crew-9 is the ninth operational NASA Commercial Crew Program flight to the International Space Station (ISS) and the 15th crewed orbital mission for a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft. The flight was originally planned to deliver four crew members to the ISS for Expedition 72, a six-month science mission: NASA astronauts Zena Cardman (commander), Nick Hague (pilot), and Stephanie Wilson (mission specialist), along with Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov (mission specialist).^[2] However, NASA decided to return the two astronauts of the Starliner crewed flight test, using Crew-9. Therefore, Crew-9 launched with a crew of two instead.^[7] Hague will serve as commander, flying alongside Gorbunov.

The Dragon spacecraft, named Freedom, is a veteran of the SpaceX Crew-4 and Axiom Space's Ax-2 and Ax-3 missions.^[8] The Falcon 9 first-stage booster, designated B1085, will be making its second flight.

Originally scheduled for 18 August 2024, the launch was rescheduled to 28 after NASA decided to return the Boeing Starliner Calypso spacecraft of the Boeing Crew Flight Test without its crew. This delay provided NASA additional time to assess the Starliner's condition, develop a safe return plan for its crew, and reconfigure the Starliner's software for an uncrewed return.^[9][10] ISS has only two IDSS ports, and one was oppupied by Crew-8 while the other was occupied by Starliner. Therefore, Crew-9 did not launch until after Starliner undocked. Until Crew-9 arrived, they arranged to use SpaceX Crew-8 as their temporary emergency evacuation spacecraft, after which they transferred to Crew-9.^[11]

Crew-9 was slated to use Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at Kennedy Space Center—which had supported all previous SpaceX's crewed missions—when Crew-9's launch was rescheduled to 24 September, it was brought close to the launch NASA's Europa Clipper mission, which must launch from LC-39A in a Falcon Heavy during a 21-day window in early October. To avoid scheduling conflicts and ensure ample preparation time for both missions, SpaceX will launch Crew-9 from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.^[12] This was the first crewed mission to lift off from SLC-40. SpaceX had been constructing a crew access tower at this location since 2023 to facilitate such operations.^[13]

Hague, a U.S. Space Force colonel, is the first active member of the Space Force to launch into space since the branch was established in 2019. Because the launch moved to SLC-40, the mission also marks the first time a Space Force servicemember launched from a Space Force launch complex.^[14]

Crew-9 relocated from Harmony forward to Harmony zenith on 3 November 2024, with all four of its crew aboard. This allowed CRS-31 to dock later dock to Harmony forward, from which it will be able to perform a test to reboost ISS. Relocations carry the full crew because the spacecraft is also the crew's "lifeboat".

The mission is scheduled to end with a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean in March 2025, a first for a Crew Dragon mission. While SpaceX Dragon 1 missions had previously landed in the Pacific, SpaceX and NASA had shifted recovery operations to the East Coast in 2019. The move allowed astronauts and critical cargo to return to Kennedy Space Center more quickly after splashdown, and SpaceX opened a facility in Florida to take in capsules after flight and prepare them for the next mission. However, the move had an unforeseen consequence: the trunk module had to be jettisoned before reentry, and while the team expected it would burn up, SpaceX became aware of at least four cases of trunk debris being found on land. The shift back to Pacific Ocean splashdowns means that the trunk can stay attached longer and be directed towards a remote area of the ocean called Point Nemo (nicknamed the spacecraft cemetery), where any debris that survives reentry will be unlikely to cause damage.^[15][16]

 

Hague and Gorbunov arrived at Kennedy Space Center on Saturday, 21 September, to prepare for their mission. The crew was scheduled to quarantine at the Operations and Checkout Building, where they conducted a dry dress rehearsal, adjusted their sleep schedules, and rehearsed flight procedures. At the time, the launch date was set for Thursday, 26 September.^[17]

On Tuesday, 24 September, the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon Freedom capsule were rolled out to SLC-40.^[18] However, due to the approaching Hurricane Helene, NASA announced that the Crew-9 launch was delayed until Saturday, 28 September.

Following a successful static fire and final dress rehearsal on Tuesday, the SpaceX Dragon and Falcon 9 rocket were rolled back to the hangar on Wednesday, 25 September, as a precaution against potential weather impacts from Hurricane Helene, which was forecast to make landfall near the Florida panhandle on Thursday, 26 September.^[19]

Crew-9 was able to lift off on the first attempt on 28 September at 17:17:21 UTC (1:17:21 pm EDT, local time at the launch site).^[20] With a launch weather forecast that predicted a 45% chance of violating weather constraints and rain clouds that passed by as the crew boarded the rocket, NASA leaders later remarked that they had "threaded a needle" regarding the weather.^[21] After lifting the Dragon and second-stage to an altitude of 70 kilometers (43 mi; 38 nmi) the rocket's first stage, Booster 1085 returned to the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and touched down at Landing Zone 1, seven minutes and 36 seconds after launch, completing its second flight.^[22] The second stage continued to lift the Dragon to an altitude of 200 kilometers (120 mi; 110 nmi) before separation.^[23]

A few hours later, when the second stage was commanded to make a destructive reentry, it experienced an off-nominal deorbit burn, deviating from its planned trajectory. Although it landed safely in the ocean, the impact point was outside the designated target area. SpaceX typically commands its second stages to re-enter the atmosphere and land in the ocean to minimize orbital debris. The off-target landing increased the potential risk of harm, as aircraft and mariners were not instructed to avoid the area. In response, SpaceX announced a temporary grounding of the Falcon 9 rocket while investigating the root cause of the mishap.^[24] On 30 September the Federal Aviation Administration grounded the Falcon 9.^[25] An exception was made for the launch of ESA's Hera. The FAA cleared the Falcon 9 to resume flights on 11 October.^[26]

Note: Times are local to the launch site (Eastern Daylight Time).

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  Hague and Gorbunov suited up in the Operations and Checkout Building before launch
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  The strongback tilts the Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Crew Dragon Freedom to a vertical position at SLC-40
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  Crew Dragon Freedom approaches the International Space Station
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  Crew Dragon Freedom illuminated in a blue glow as auroras move through Earth's atmosphere

•   Media related to SpaceX Crew-9 at Wikimedia Commons