SpaceX Crew-9 Mission: Countdown Begins for Rescue Mission To Bring NASA Astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore Home From ISS; Check Details

New Delhi, September 23: SpaceX Crew-9 mission is set to bring NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore back home from the International Space Station (ISS) in a rescue mission. The SpaceX Crew-9 mission, in collaboration with NASA, has been scheduled to launch in this month. The mission will bring home astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore from the ISS after they were left without a ride following issues with Boeing's Starliner spacecraft.

Originally planned for a short stay, Williams and Wilmore have now spent several months aboard the ISS. After Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams launched on Boeing's Starliner spacecraft for the Crew Flight Test (CFT) on June 5, the capsule faced some problems. Five out of its 28 thrusters failed, and there were helium leaks in the propulsion system of the spacecraft. Russian Cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub Break Record for Longest Stay on ISS.

NASA took weeks to figure out the issues by testing Starliner equipment at the White Sands Test Facility in New Mexico. Wilmore and Williams also conducted thruster tests on the Starliner while it was docked at the ISS. The tests were done to gather as much information as possible for the teams on the ground to assess whether the spacecraft was safe for a return trip. Eventually, NASA announced 10 days later that they would bring the spacecraft back without its crew.

SpaceX Crew-9 Mission Details

As per a report of Business Today, the SpaceX Crew-9 mission will launch on September 26 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The astronauts, currently aboard the ISS, will join NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov for their return journey, as Crew-9 is set to depart from the ISS in February 2025, according to a report of Space.com. Starlink Satellites Are Blinding Astronomers' View of Space.

NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov will be heading to the International Space Station (ISS) on SpaceX's Crew-9 mission. Originally, two other NASA astronauts, Zena Cardman and Stephanie Wilson, were also scheduled to go. However, Wilson and Cardman are reportedly dropped from the mission to make space for Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore. The Crew-9 mission will be different because it will not have a dedicated pilot. Nick Hague, who was originally set to be the pilot, will now be the commander and will share the pilot duties with Aleksandr Gorbunov.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 23, 2024 09:47 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).