NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 Changes Ahead of September Launch

NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov will launch no earlier than Tuesday, Sept. 24, on the agency’s SpaceX Crew-9 mission to the International Space Station.
NASA astronaut Nick Hague (left) and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov pose for portraits in their flight suits at SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, California. Credit: SpaceX

NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov will launch no earlier than Tuesday, Sept. 24, on the agency’s SpaceX Crew-9 mission to the International Space Station. NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Stephanie Wilson, previously announced as crewmates, are eligible for reassignment on a future mission.

Hague and Gorbunov will fly to the space station as commander and mission specialist, respectively, as part of a two-crew member flight aboard a SpaceX Dragon.

The updated crew complement follows NASA’s decision to return the agency’s Boeing Crew Flight Test uncrewed and launch Crew-9 with two unoccupied seats. NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, who launched aboard the Starliner spacecraft in June, will fly home with Hague and Gorbunov in February 2025.

The decision to fly Hague was made by NASA chief astronaut Joe Acaba at the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. Acaba had to balance flying a NASA crew member with previous spaceflight experience to command the flight, while ensuring NASA maintains an integrated crew with a Roscosmos cosmonaut who can operate their critical systems for continued, safe station operations.

“While we’ve changed crew before for a variety of reasons, downsizing crew for this flight was another tough decision to adjust to given that the crew has trained as a crew of four,” said Acaba. “I have the utmost confidence in all our crew, who have been excellent throughout training for the mission. Zena and Stephanie will continue to assist their crewmates ahead of launch, and they exemplify what it means to be a professional astronaut.”

The agency will share reassignment details for Cardman and Wilson when available.

“I am deeply proud of our entire crew,” said Cardman, “and I am confident Nick and Alex will step into their roles with excellence. All four of us remain dedicated to the success of this mission, and Stephanie and I look forward to flying when the time is right.”

Wilson added, “I know Nick and Alex will do a great job with their work aboard the International Space Station as part of Expedition 72.”

With 203 days logged in space, this will be Hague’s third launch and second mission to the orbiting laboratory. During his first launch in March 2018, Hague and his crewmate, Roscosmos’ Alexey Ovchinin, experienced a rocket booster failure, resulting in an in-flight, post-launch abort, ballistic re-entry, and safe landing in their Soyuz MS-10 spacecraft. 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 conducted three spacewalks to upgrade space station power systems and install a docking adapter for commercial spacecraft. 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 this flight assignment. Follow @astrohague on X and Instagram.

This will be Gorbunov’s first trip to space and the station. 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.

Hague and Gorbonov will become members of the Expedition 72 crew aboard the station. They will join Wilmore, Williams, fellow NASA astronaut Don Pettit, and Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner conducting scientific research and maintenance activities into the station’s 24th year of continuous human presence.

NASA, SpaceX Targeting Aug. 18 for Crew-9 Mission to Space Station

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 stands in front of a Falcon 9 first-stage booster at SpaceX’s HangarX facility in Florida.
NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 stands in front of a Falcon 9 first-stage booster at SpaceX’s HangarX facility in Florida. Credit: SpaceX

NASA and SpaceX officials announced during a news conference Friday their plan to launch the agency’s SpaceX Crew-9 mission to the International Space Station no earlier than Sunday, Aug. 18. Watch a full replay of the news conference.

Crew-9 is the ninth crew rotation mission with SpaceX to the space station under NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. The mission will carry NASA astronauts Zena Cardman, spacecraft commander; Nick Hague, pilot; and Stephanie Wilson, mission specialist; as well as Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Gorbunov to the orbiting laboratory for a six-month science mission. This will be the first spaceflight for Cardman and Gorbunov, the second mission to the space station for Hague, and the fourth spaceflight for Wilson, who has spent 42 days in space aboard three space shuttle Discovery missions – STS-120, STS-121, and STS-131.

During a separate crew news conference later on Friday, Cardman, Hague, Wilson, and Gorbunov answered reporters’ questions and discussed topics such as the inspiration behind the Crew-9 mission patch design, research they’ll complete in microgravity, and how they prepare for a long-duration flight. Watch a full replay of the crew news conference here.

“I am absolutely honored to be here with my crewmates, who have been an awesome team – Nick, Stephanie, and Alex. They have shown so much technical excellence. They are also deeply kind and incredible teammates who have been really fun to work with, which has just made this a dream assignment for me,” said Cardman.

The international crew will lift off from NASA Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A in Florida aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft. The Dragon spacecraft supporting this flight, named Freedom, previously flew on SpaceX’s Crew-4 and Axiom Space’s Ax-2 and Ax-3 missions.

More details about the mission can be found by following the commercial crew blog, @commercial_crew on Twitter, or commercial crew on Facebook.