NASA Astronauts Wilmore, Williams Complete Move to Crew-9 Spacecraft

Image shows SpaceX Dragon spacecraft docking to the International Space Station on Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024.
SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft carrying NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov docked to the International Space Station on Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024. Photo credit: NASA

NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams are fully integrated into the newly arrived Crew-9 spacecraft docked to the International Space Station. The duo tried on their SpaceX Intravehicular Activity spacesuits and completed pressurized suit leak checks on Tuesday. They also tested the suits’ audio configurations and conducted seat fit checks inside the Dragon spacecraft, completing the work required to return on the spacecraft that delivered NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov to the station on Sept. 29.

Williams, space station commander, and Wilmore, flight engineer, will remain on the space station as Expedition 72 crew members completing a science mission aboard the space station and return to Earth in February 2025 with Hague and Gorbunov as part of the agency’s SpaceX Crew-9 mission. With the checks completed, the Crew-9 Dragon now is the normal and emergency return spacecraft for the four-person crew.

The temporary seats built up inside the Crew-8 Dragon spacecraft, that had been serving as an emergency return spacecraft for Williams and Wilmore until Crew-9 arrived, will be dismantled by the crew prior to the spacecraft’s departure from the space station. The Crew-8 spacecraft and its crew of NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt, and Jeanette Epps, as well as Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin, are scheduled to return to Earth in about a week, depending on weather conditions in the splashdown zones off the coast of Florida.

Expedition 72 Welcomes Crew-9 Duo Aboard Station

NASA's SpaceX Crew-9 crew joins Expedition 72 aboard the International Space Station. Credit: NASA
NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 crew joins Expedition 72 aboard the International Space Station. Credit: NASA

NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov entered the International Space Station after opening the hatch between the space station and the pressurized mating adapter at 7:04 p.m. EDT before opening the hatch to Dragon.

Hague and Gorbunov were welcomed by the space station’s Expedition 72 crew, including NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt, Jeanette Epps, Don Petitt, Butch Wilmore, and Suni Williams, as well as Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexander Grebenkin, Alexey Ovchinin, and Ivan Vagner.

NASA’s live coverage continues through crew welcome remarks aboard the station on NASA+, YouTube, and the agency’s website. Learn how to stream NASA content through a variety of platforms, including social media.


Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_station and @ISS_Research on X, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

Get weekly updates from NASA Johnson Space Center at: https://roundupreads.jsc.nasa.gov/

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SpaceX Dragon with Crew-9 Aboard Docks to Station

Sept. 29, 2024: International Space Station Configuration. Six spaceships are parked at the space station including the SpaceX Dragons Endurance and Endeavour, the Northrop Grumman resupply ship, the Soyuz MS-26 crew ship, and the Progress 88 and 89 resupply ships.
Sept. 29, 2024: International Space Station Configuration. Six spaceships are parked at the space station including the SpaceX Dragons Endeavour and Freedom, the Northrop Grumman resupply ship, the Soyuz MS-26 crew ship, and the Progress 88 and 89 resupply ships.

NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov arrived at the International Space Station Sunday, as the SpaceX Dragon Freedom docked to the orbiting complex at 5:30 p.m. EDT while the station was 260 statute miles over Botswana.

Following Dragon’s link up to the Harmony module, the astronauts aboard the Dragon and the space station will begin conducting standard leak checks and pressurization between the spacecraft in preparation for hatch opening scheduled for approximately 7:15 p.m.

Hague and Gorbunov will join the space station’s Expedition 72 crew of NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt, Jeanette Epps, Don Petitt, Butch Wilmore, and Suni Williams, as well as Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexander Grebenkin, Alexey Ovchinin, and Ivan Vagner. For a short time, the number of crew aboard the space station will increase to 11 people until Crew-8 members Dominick, Barratt, Epps, and Grebenkin return to Earth in early October.

NASA’s live coverage continues on NASA+, YouTube, and the agency’s website. Learn how to stream NASA content through a variety of platforms, including social media.


Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_station and @ISS_Research on X, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

Get weekly updates from NASA Johnson Space Center at: https://roundupreads.jsc.nasa.gov/

Get the latest from NASA delivered every week. Subscribe here: www.nasa.gov/subscribe

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 News Conference at 3 p.m. EDT

SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft atop a Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Space Launch Complex-40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024.
SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft atop a Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Space Launch Complex-40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024. Photo credit: NASA

The SpaceX spacecraft carrying Crew-9 members NASA astronaut Nick Hague, commander, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, mission specialist, to the International Space Station has safely reached orbit, and the nosecone has opened.  

A postlaunch news conference will be held at 3 p.m. EDT at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida with the following participants:  

  • NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy 
  • Ken Bowersox, associate administrator, NASA’s Space Operations Mission Directorate 
  • Dana Hutcherson, deputy program manager, Commercial Crew Program, NASA Kennedy 
  • Dina Contella, deputy manager, International Space Station Program, NASA Johnson 
  • Sarah Walker, director, Dragon Mission Management, SpaceX

NASA will air the postlaunch news conference on NASA+ and the agency’s website. Learn how to stream NASA content through a variety of platforms, including social media. 

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 Spacecraft Flying Solo

SpaceX Dragon spacecraft separates from second stage 12 minutes after launch from Space Launch Complex-40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Photo: NASA
SpaceX Dragon spacecraft separates from second stage 12 minutes after launch from Space Launch Complex-40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Photo: NASA

At 1:29 EDT, SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft separated from the Falcon 9 rocket second stage and now is flying on its own.  

NASA astronaut Nick Hague, commander, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, mission specialist, are on a 28.5-hour journey to the International Space Station. The spacecraft now is in orbit and will autonomously dock to the Harmony module’s forward port. Soon, the crew will open their visors and get out of their suits during the ride.  

Once Hague and Gorbunov reach the orbiting laboratory, they will be greeted by nine members of the Expedition 72 crew. There will be a brief overlap period before NASA’s SpaceX Crew-8 members, NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick, Mike Barratt, and Jeanette Epps, as well as Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin return to Earth. The four-person crew has been at the orbiting laboratory since March 5, when they docked to the orbital outpost aboard the SpaceX Dragon Endeavour spacecraft.  

Check back for updates on the mission blog, @commercial_crew on X, or commercial crew on Facebook. 

Falcon 9 First Stage Sticks Landing

Image shows first-stage booster from SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket comes in for a successful landing at Landing Zone 1 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024, just minutes after NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 launch from Space Launch Complex-40.
A first-stage booster from SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket comes in for a successful landing at Landing Zone 1 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024, just minutes after NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 launch from Space Launch Complex-40. Photo credit: NASA

The first stage of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket has completed its descent and landed at the company’s Landing Zone 1 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. 

Next, the Dragon spacecraft will separate from the rocket’s second stage to continue its journey to the International Space Station. 

Falcon 9 Max Q, Main Engine Cutoff, Stage Separation

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket has reached Max-Q, the moment of peak mechanical stress on the rocket. Following this, first stage main engine cutoff occurred, and the first and second stages have separated from each other.  

The rocket’s first stage booster is scheduled to land at SpaceX’s Landing Zone 1 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.  

Next, the Falcon 9’s second-stage engine will ignite to carry Crew-9 and the Dragon spacecraft closer to orbit.  

Liftoff! NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 Heads to Space Station

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the company's Dragon spacecraft lifts off on NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 mission to the International Space Station with NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov aboard Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024, from Space Launch Complex-40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the company’s Dragon spacecraft lifts off on NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 mission to the International Space Station with NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov aboard Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024, from Space Launch Complex-40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Photo credit: NASA

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 mission lifted off at 1:17 p.m. EDT from Space Launch Complex-40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. This marks the first time a human spaceflight mission launched from the pad.  

NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov are already experiencing 2 g while SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket go through a rapid succession of events.   

It is expected to take 28.5 hours for the spacecraft to autonomously dock to the space station at 5:30 p.m. EDT Sunday, Sept. 29, while traveling 17,000 mph orbiting the Earth.  

Coming up next, the nine Merlin engines on Falcon 9’s first stage will burn through one million pounds of propellant during the next three minutes.  

NASA’s live coverage continues on NASA+ and the agency’s website. Also, check back for updates on the mission blog, @commercial_crew on X, or commercial crew on Facebook. 

Propellant and Liquid Oxygen Loading Begins

The SpaceX launch director polled NASA and SpaceX managers in Hangar X at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida and gave a 'go’ for fueling for the Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft that will carry NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov for a science expedition mission aboard the International Space
Propellant loading is underway for the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket ahead of launch to the International Space Station for NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 mission. Photo credit: NASA

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket fueling is underway with rocket-grade kerosene (RP-1) and first-stage liquid oxygen. About 16 minutes before liftoff, liquid oxygen fueling will begin for the second stage.   

Liftoff is the next big milestone! Launch weather officers with the U.S. Space Force 45th Weather Squadron predict a 70% chance of favorable weather conditions for launch.   

Liftoff remains scheduled for 1:17 p.m. EDT from Space Launch Complex-40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

Crew Access Arm Retracts

Crew access arm retracts from Space Launch Complex-40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024.
The crew access arm retracts from Space Launch Complex-40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station for NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 mission to the International Space Force Station in Florida on Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024. Photo credit: NASA

The launch director just gave a “go” for the crew access arm to retract away from SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket.   

A few minutes later, Dragon’s launch escape system will be armed to allow the Crew-9 crew members to escape safely in the unlikely event of an anomaly from the moment the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off until the Dragon spacecraft reaches orbit.  

Propellant loading is coming up next.