29-9-2024 (WASHINGTON) SpaceX is poised to launch a mission with a twist on Saturday, 28 September, as the private space company steps in to resolve a situation that has left two American astronauts stranded aboard the International Space Station (ISS) for months longer than planned.
The Falcon 9 rocket is scheduled to lift off at 1:17 pm local time (1717 GMT) from Cape Canaveral, Florida, utilising a new launch pad for its first crewed mission. This particular flight, however, will carry only two passengers: NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Gorbunov, leaving two seats deliberately vacant.
These empty seats are reserved for the return journey of NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, whose extended stay on the ISS was necessitated by complications with their Boeing-designed Starliner spacecraft. The Starliner, on its maiden crewed flight, successfully delivered Wilmore and Williams to the space station in June for what was intended to be a brief eight-day mission. However, propulsion system issues that emerged during the flight forced NASA to reconsider its plans dramatically.
After extensive testing of the Starliner’s reliability, NASA made the difficult decision to return the spacecraft to Earth unmanned and to bring the stranded astronauts home aboard the SpaceX Crew-9 mission instead.
NASA associate administrator Jim Free acknowledged the unusual nature of the mission, stating, “We recognise that this launch is somewhat unique in deviating from the planned crew complement. I want to express our gratitude to SpaceX for their support and flexibility in this matter.”
SpaceX, the brainchild of entrepreneur Elon Musk, has been conducting regular six-month rotation missions to the ISS. However, the launch of Crew-9 faced multiple delays, initially pushed back from mid-August to late September to allow NASA more time to evaluate the Starliner situation. Further postponements were caused by the devastating impact of Hurricane Helene on Florida’s opposite coast.
The SpaceX Dragon capsule is expected to dock with the ISS on Sunday at approximately 2130 GMT. Following a handover period, the four members of Crew-8 will return to Earth in another SpaceX vessel.
Hague and Gorbunov are slated for a five-month stay on the ISS, while Wilmore and Williams will have spent a total of eight months in orbit by the time they return. During their extended mission, Crew-9 will conduct approximately 200 scientific experiments, contributing valuable data to ongoing space research efforts.
