NASA-SpaceX To Launch Crew 9 Mission Today To Bring Back Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore from ISS in February 2025
NASA-SpaceX is set to launch the Crew-9 -- an astronaut and a cosmonaut -- to the International Space Station (ISS), in a mission that aims to bring back stranded Indian-Origin Sunita Williams back to Earth in February next year.
New Delhi, September 28: NASA-SpaceX is set to launch the Crew-9 -- an astronaut and a cosmonaut -- to the International Space Station (ISS), in a mission that aims to bring back stranded Indian-Origin Sunita Williams back to Earth in February next year.
According to NASA, the liftoff is targeted for 1:17 p.m. EDT (10:47 pm IST) on Saturday from Space Launch Complex-40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. “This is the first human spaceflight mission to launch from that pad,” the US space agency said. SpaceX Crew-9 Mission Launch Today To Bring NASA Astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore Home From ISS; Check Live Streaming Link and Other Details.
The Crew-9 was initially expected to launch on Thursday but was postponed due to poor weather conditions due to hurricane Helene, currently impacting the Gulf Coast of Florida. The flight will carry NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov to the orbiting laboratory for about five-month science mission. They will return to Earth in February along with Williams and Butch Willmore.
Williams and Willmore travelled to the ISS on an eight-day sojourn on the faulty Boeing’s Starliner. While the Starliner was declared unfit for human travel by NASA, and it returned safely to Earth, the astronaut duo are stuck in space.
Meanwhile, NASA’s Flight Readiness Review confirmed that all systems are “go” for the launch, ensuring that the Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft are ready for this critical mission. For the first time since May 2020 test flight, SpaceX is launching two astronauts to the ISS on a Dragon spacecraft. SpaceX Polaris Dawn Mission: SpaceX Shares Video Clip of Polaris Dawn’s Dragon View During 5-Day Mission With Polaris Dawn Crew, Elon Musk and Jared Isaacman Reacts (Watch Video).
In a bid to make room for Williams and Willmore in the orbiting lab, NASA had pulled out two other Crew-9 members -- commander Zena Cardman and three-time shuttle flier Stephanie Wilson. The Crew-9 mission will fly with two empty with extra cargo and supplies, including a new Dragon spacesuit for Wilmore (one for Williams is already aboard the ISS). The targeted docking time is approximately 5:30 p.m. Sunday (3.30 am Monday), NASA said.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 28, 2024 05:00 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).