Crew-9 Set to Launch with Two Astronauts

In periods of uncertainty, one thing is clear in spaceflight – the show must go on. With this mantra in mind, NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov are preparing to launch on the agency’s SpaceX Crew-9 mission to the International Space Station, currently scheduled for no earlier than September 26th, 2024, should weather in both the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic facilitate operations. Once aboard the space station, Hague and Gorbunov will join NASA astronauts Don Petitt, Butch Wilmore, Suni Williams, as well as Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner and become members of the Expedition 72 crew. During their six month stay on station, they will perform research, technology demonstrations, and maintenance activities to continue the all important legacy of the ISS – a 26 year achievement to continuing resilience in the face of adversity. 

The flight is the ninth crew rotation mission with SpaceX to the station under NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, which returned crew-launch capability to the United States following the stand down of the 30 year Space Shuttle program. The duo will lift off aboard the SpaceX Dragon Freedom spacecraft, which previously flew NASA’s SpaceX Crew-4, Axiom Mission 2 and Axiom Mission 3, from Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. This mission is the first human mission from Launch Complex 40, which previously supported the Titan family of expendable launch vehicles from 1965-2005, and was subsequently converted by SpaceX for the Falcon 9 launch vehicle.

Nick Hague will serve as crew commander for Crew-9, making this his third launch and second mission to the space station. During his first launch in October 2018, Hague and his crewmate, Roscosmos’ Alexey Ovchinin, experienced a failure in their Soyuz launch vehicle, resulting in an in-flight, post-launch abort, ballistic re-entry, and safe landing in their Soyuz MS-10 spacecraft. This abort was one of the only instances of an in-flight abort in modern human spaceflight, and threatened to severely disrupt ISS operations. Five months later, Hague launched aboard Soyuz MS-12 and served as a flight engineer aboard the space station during Expeditions 59 and 60. Hague has spent 203 days in space and conducted three spacewalks to upgrade space station power systems and install a docking adapter for commercial spacecraft.

Born in Belleville, Kansas, Hague earned a bachelor’s degree in Astronautical Engineering from the United States Air Force Academy and a master’s degree in Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Hague was selected as an astronaut by NASA in 2013. An active-duty colonel in the U.S. Space Force, Hague completed a developmental rotation at the Defense Department and served as the Space Force’s director of test and evaluation from 2020 to 2022. In August 2022, Hague resumed duties at NASA, working on the Boeing Starliner Program until his flight assignment aboard Crew-9.

Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov will embark on his first trip to the space station as a mission specialist for Crew-9. Born in Zheleznogorsk, Kursk region, Russia, he studied engineering with qualifications in spacecraft and upper stages from the Moscow Aviation Institute. Gorbunov graduated from the military department with a specialty in operating and repairing aircraft, helicopters, and aircraft engines. Before his selection as a cosmonaut in 2018, he worked as an engineer for Rocket Space Corp. Energia and supported cargo spacecraft launches from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. Gorbunov will serve as a flight engineer during Expedition 71/72 aboard the space station.

The crew of Crew-9 originally consisted of four crew members, including Commander Zena Cardman and Mission Specialist Stephanie Wilson – both NASA astronauts. They were removed from the manifest following the decision to return Boeing Crewed Flight Test astronauts Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Sunita “Suni” Williams onboard SpaceX’s Dragon vehicle, citing uncertainty in the Starliner spacecraft’s performance. After the reassignment, Hague and Gorbunov were retrained in their new roles, with the duties onboard Dragon now being redistributed between two crew members. On September 7th, 2024, Starliner Calypso departed the station in an uncrewed configuration, necessitating a new ride downhill for Williams and Wilmore. 

After docking, Expedition 71 will welcome Hague and Gorbunov inside the station and conduct several days of handover activities with the departing astronauts of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-8 mission. After a handover period, NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt, Jeanette Epps, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin of Crew-8 will undock from the space station and splash down off the coast of Florida, concluding a campaign on station that has helped paved the way for future long distance expeditions to the Moon, Mars and beyond. The responsibility of returning the CFT astronauts will then shift to Crew-9, should an emergency arise on Station. Prior to the arrival of Crew-9, NASA has approved a contingency return configuration for the joint CFT-Crew-8 segment, utilizing the lower cargo deck in Crew Dragon Endurance in the event of emergency.

Crew-9 and the larger Expedition 71/72 crew will conduct new scientific research to prepare for human exploration beyond low Earth orbit and benefit humanity on Earth. Experiments include the impact of flame behavior in space, studying cells and platelets during long-duration spaceflight, and a B vitamin that could reduce Spaceflight-Associated Neuro-ocular Syndrome, the degradation of cells in the eye which has been observed on long duration missions. The crew will also work on experiments that benefit life on Earth, like studying the physics of supernova explosions and monitoring the effects of different moisture treatments on plants grown aboard the station. These are just a few of over 200 scientific experiments and technology demonstrations taking place during their mission. While aboard the orbiting laboratory, Crew-9 will welcome two Dragon spacecraft, including NASA’s SpaceX’s 31st commercial resupply services mission and NASA’s SpaceX Crew-10, and two Roscosmos-led cargo deliveries on Progress 90 and 91.

In February, Hague, Gorbunov, Wilmore, and Williams will climb aboard Dragon and autonomously undock, depart the space station, and re-enter Earth’s atmosphere. After splashdown off Florida’s coast, a SpaceX recovery vessel will pick up the spacecraft and crew, who then will be flown by helicopter back to shore. They will be followed by the Crew-10 mission, consisting of NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, JAXA astronaut Takuya Onishi and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov. The Crew-10 mission is slated to be the first flight of Crew Dragon C213, the fifth Dragon to be constructed by SpaceX in support of LEO operations.

Edited by Beverly Casillas