Category: NASA

Liftoff One Hour Away for NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 Launch

Image shows a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft atop a Falcon 9 rocket at Space Launch Complex-40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station for NASA's Crew-9 mission to the International Space Station on Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024.
A SpaceX Dragon spacecraft atop a Falcon 9 rocket is vertical at Space Launch Complex-40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida for NASA’s Crew-9 mission to the International Space Station on Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024. Photo credit: NASA

The SpaceX closeout team has left the crew access arm, which will soon retract from the Dragon spacecraft. Launch, set for 1:17 p.m. EDT, is now less than an hour away.  

Launch weather officers with the U.S. Space Force’s 45th Weather Squadron are watching lightning, rain, and wind in the area, but launch currently remains a “go” for liftoff from Space Launch Complex-40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.  

It will take 28.5 hours for NASA astronaut Nick Hague, commander, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, mission specialist, to reach the International Space Station and dock to the Harmony module’s forward port. Once there, they’ll be greeted by nine members of the Expedition 72 crew. There will be a brief handover 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.  

The space station will be traveling over northeast Bulgaria during liftoff.   

NASA’s live coverage of the Crew-9 mission 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. 

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 Exits Crew Quarters, Heads to Launch Site

Image shows NASA's SpaceX Crew-9 crew members walk out of the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center on Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024.
NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 crew members walk out of the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida ahead of launch on Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024. NASA astronaut Nick Hague (right) and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov will launch to the International Space Station aboard SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket. Launch is targeted for 1:17 p.m. EDT from Space Launch Complex-40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Crew-9 is the ninth crew rotation mission with SpaceX to the space station as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program. Photo credit: NASA

The crew is on their way to Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Space Launch Complex-40 to launch on NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 mission to the International Space Station. This is the first time a human spaceflight mission will launch from the pad. 

NASA astronaut Nick Hague, commander, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, mission specialist, spent the last couple of hours eating and suiting up inside crew quarters at the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. 

The Crew-9 crewmembers waved to family and friends before entering customized Tesla Model X vehicles, with a security escort, for a roughly 20-minute journey to the launch pad. 

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and a Dragon spacecraft will launch Crew-9 to the space station for about a five-month mission. Hague and Gorbunov will join Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, who are already aboard the space station, and all will return to Earth as a crew of four in February 2025. 

NASA’s live coverage of the Crew-9 mission continues on NASA+ and the agency’s website. 

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 Launch Day Milestones

Image of SpaceX Dragon spacecraft atop a Falcon 9 rocket ahead of NASA's SpaceX Crew-9 mission to the International Space Station.
SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft sits atop a Falcon 9 rocket on Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024, at Space Launch Complex-40 ahead of launch to the International Space Station. Photo credit: NASA

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 launch operations are underway to send a NASA astronaut and Roscosmos cosmonaut to the International Space Station. Crew-9 is the ninth crew rotation mission with SpaceX to the space station under the agency’s Commercial Crew Program. 

Time                Event  (All times subject to change)
9:17 a.m.      Suit donning and checkouts
9:57 a.m.     Crew walkout from Neil A. Armstrong Operations & Checkout Building
10:02 a.m.   Crew transportation to Launch Complex-40
10:20 a.m.   Crew arrives at pad and ascends tower
10:42 a.m.   Crew ingress
10:48 a.m.   Seat rotation
10:49 a.m.   Suit leak checks
10:58 a.m.   Communication check
11:22 a.m.    Hatch close
12:42 p.m.  SpaceX Launch Director verifies go for propellant load
12:35 p.m.   Crew access arm retracts
12:39 p.m.   Dragon’s launch escape system is armed
12:42 p.m.   RP-1 (rocket grade kerosene) loading begins
12:42 p.m.  1st stage LOX (liquid oxygen) loading begins
1:01 p.m.     2nd stage LOX loading begins
1:10 p.m.     Falcon 9 begins engine chill prior to launch
1:15 p.m.     Dragon transitions to internal power
1:16 p.m.     Command flight computer to begin final prelaunch checks
1:16 p.m.     Propellant tank pressurization to flight pressure begins
1:16 p.m.     SpaceX Launch Director verifies go for launch
1:17 p.m.     Falcon 9 liftoff
1:18 p.m.    Max Q (moment of peak mechanical stress on the rocket)
1:19 p.m.    1st stage main engine cutoff (MECO)
1:19 p.m.    1st and 2nd stages separate
1:19 p.m.    2nd stage engine starts
1:20 p.m.    Boostback Burn Starts
1:21 p.m.     Boostback Burn Ends
1:23 p.m.    1st stage entry burn starts
1:24 p.m.    1st stage entry burn ends
1:24 p.m.    1st stage landing burn starts
1:25 p.m.    1st stage landing
1:26 p.m.    2nd stage engine cutoff (SECO-1)
1:29 p.m.    Dragon separates from 2nd stage
1:30 p.m.    Dragon nosecone open sequence begins 

NASA’s live coverage of the Crew-9 mission 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. 

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 Members Suit Up

Image shows NASA Crew-9 crewmembers suiting up for their launch to the International Space Station on Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024.
NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 crew members are seated inside the crew suit-up room in the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida ahead of launch to the International Space Station on Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024. NASA astronaut Nick Hague (left) and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov are scheduled to lift off aboard SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket at 1:17 p.m. EDT from Space Launch Complex-40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Crew-9 is the ninth crew rotation mission with SpaceX to the space station as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program. Photo credit: NASA

NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov are in the process of suit-up operations in the Astronaut Crew Quarters inside NASA Kennedy Space Center’s Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building in Florida. 

The crew are sitting in seats configured like the ones they will occupy inside the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft during launch. Technicians are pressurizing the suits and checking for any leaks. Each 3D-printed helmet includes a communications system and valves to regulate the suit’s pressure systems. A port on the suit’s thigh connects to life support systems, including air and power. 

Image shows NASA's Crew-9 crewmembers play ritual card game on launch day, Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024.
NASA’s Crew-9 crewmembers play ritual card game on launch day, Saturday, Sept. 24, 2024. Photo credit: NASA

Once suited, Hague and Gorbunov soon will play the ritual card game that occurs before any human spaceflight mission launching from the Florida spaceport. The point of the game is that the commander must use up all his or her bad luck before the launch, so the crew can only leave for the launch pad once the commander loses.  

Launch is targeted for 1:17 p.m. EDT at Space Launch Complex-40 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. This is the first time a human spaceflight mission will launch from the pad. 

NASA’s live coverage of the Crew-9 mission continues on NASA+ and the agency’s website. 

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 Mission on Track for Saturday Launch

Image of NASA and mission partners held a prelaunch news conference for the NASA's SpaceX Crew-9 mission.
A prelaunch news briefing takes place inside the John Holliman Auditorium of the News Center at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, ahead of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 mission to the International Space Station. Photo credit: NASA

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 two-man crew is ready for their mission to the International Space Station.

NASA and mission partners held a prelaunch news conference on Sept. 27 and the 1:17 p.m. EDT Saturday, Sept. 28, liftoff remains on schedule from Space Launch Complex-40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

Launch weather officers with Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s 45th Weather Squadron predict a 55% of favorable weather conditions for the launch. The cumulus cloud rule, flight through precipitation, and surface electric fields rule are the primary weather concerns.

SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket are back on the pad and cargo loading will soon begin. Both rolled back to the hangar on Wednesday to protect from Hurricane Helene.

Crew-9 will be the first human spaceflight mission to launch from the pad, carrying NASA astronaut Nick Hague, commander, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, mission specialist, to the orbiting laboratory for a five-month science mission.

“We moved to a different pad, Space Launch Complex-40, and it’s great to have that flexibility to be able to use Launch Pad 39A or Space Launch Complex-40 for launches,” said Ken Bowersox, associate administrator, NASA’s Space Operations Mission Directorate. “I’m so proud of the commercial crew team, the International Space Station team, and our partners at SpaceX and the work they’ve done to prepare for launch.”

Watch a replay of the prelaunch news conference.

NASA’s broadcast coverage of the Crew-9 launch begins at 9:10 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 28. Watch live on NASA+ and the agency’s website. Learn how to stream NASA content through a variety of platforms, including social media.

NASA, SpaceX Shift Crew-9 Launch to NET Sept. 28 Over Weather Concerns

Image shows a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft atop a Falcon 9 rocket ahead of NASA's SpaceX Crew-9 mission to the International Space Station.
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket, with the Dragon spacecraft atop, is vertical at the launch pad of Space Launch Complex-40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024, ahead of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 launch to the International Space Station. Photo credit: SpaceX

NASA and SpaceX teams have adjusted the next launch opportunity for NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 mission to no earlier than 1:17 p.m. EDT, Saturday, Sept. 28, from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida due to expected tropical storm conditions in the area. The change allows teams to complete a rehearsal of launch day activities Tuesday night with the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket, which rolled to Space Launch Complex-40 earlier in the day. Following rehearsal activities, the integrated system will move back to the hangar ahead of any potential storm activity.

Although Tropical Storm Helene is moving through the Gulf of Mexico and expected to impact the Florida panhandle, the storm system is large enough that high winds and heavy rain are expected in the Cape Canaveral and Merritt Island regions on Florida’s east coast.

NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov are to launch aboard the Dragon spacecraft to the International Space Station on what will be the ninth crew rotation mission with SpaceX under NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. They will conduct research and perform maintenance activities during their five-month mission. The mission is launch from Space Launch Complex-40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 Flight Readiness Review Concludes

Managers participate in a flight readiness review at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida ahead of the agency's SpaceX Crew-9 launch.
Managers with NASA and SpaceX, along with international partners, participate in NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 Flight Readiness Review at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Monday, Sept. 23, 2024. Launch is targeted for 2:05 p.m. EDT Sept. 26, 2024, from Space Launch Complex-40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Photo credit: NASA/Cory Huston

NASA, SpaceX, and international partner teams concluded a Flight Readiness Review Monday at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida ahead of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 launch to the International Space Station. The earliest possible launch opportunity is 2:05 p.m. EDT Thursday, Sept. 26. However, NASA, SpaceX, and the U.S. Space Force’s 45th Weather Squadron are closely monitoring potential Tropical Cyclone Nine and its approach toward the Gulf of Mexico and Florida’s west coast ahead of launch.

The review concluded the SpaceX’s crew transportation system, the space station, and its partners are ready to support the launch of Crew-9 and the return of Crew-8, pending the weather forecast and the completion of the dress rehearsal and static fire.

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is scheduled to roll out to Space Launch Complex-40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on Tuesday, Sept. 24, for a static fire and final dress rehearsal in preparation for launch. NASA astronaut Nick Hague, commander, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, mission specialist, are scheduled to launch to the space station aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket.

Crew-9 is the ninth crew rotation mission with SpaceX to the space station under NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. They will spend about five months at the orbiting laboratory conducting experiments, research demonstrations, and spacewalks to perform maintenance on the space station.

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 Duo Lands at Florida Spaceport

NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov in blue flight suits deplane from a Gulfstream jet
NASA astronaut Nick Hague, front, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov arrive via Gulfstream jet on Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, Florida, ahead of the agency’s SpaceX Crew-9 launch. The pair will stay in the center’s Astronaut Crew Quarters in preparation for their launch on Thursday, Sept. 26, aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at nearby Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Credit: Danielle Sempsrott/NASA

NASA astronaut Nick Hague, commander, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, mission specialist, arrived at the Launch and Landing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida just moments ago on Saturday, Sept. 21.

NASA leaders will greet the agency’s SpaceX Crew-9 at 1:30 p.m. EDT for a brief welcome ceremony with the following participants:

  • Kelvin Manning, deputy director, NASA’s Kennedy Space Center
  • Dana Hutcherson, deputy program manager, NASA’s Commercial Crew Program
  • NASA astronaut Nick Hague
  • Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov

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

Hague and Gorbunov will quarantine at the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at Kennedy. While there, they’ll conduct a dry dress rehearsal of the mission, sleep shift to align their resting and waking periods with mission requirements, rehearse flight procedures, as well as make calls to family and friends.

The crew is scheduled to launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft to the International Space Station at 2:05 p.m. EDT on Thursday, Sept. 26, from Space Launch Complex-40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 Leaves Houston for Florida Space Coast

NASA astronaut Nick Hague (left) and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov pose for portraits in their flight suits.
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

In a matter of hours on Saturday, Sept. 21, NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 will land at the Launch and Landing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

NASA astronaut Nick Hague, commander, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, mission specialist, left Ellington Field near the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston and will continue to quarantine at Kennedy.

NASA leaders will hold a brief welcome ceremony when Hague and Gorbunov land around 1:30 p.m. EDT. Watch the event live on NASA+ and the agency’s website. Learn how to stream NASA content through a variety of platforms, including social media.

Liftoff is targeted for 2:05 p.m. EDT on Thursday, Sept. 26, from Space Launch Complex-40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Crew-9 will launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft. This is the first time a human spaceflight mission will launch from the pad.

More details about the launch will be posted on the mission blog, @commercial_crew on X, or commercial crew on Facebook.

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 Enters Quarantine Ahead of Launch

Photo shows NASA, SpaceX Crew-9 members from right to left, Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov
From right to left, NASA SpaceX Crew-9 members Nick Hague, commander, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, mission specialist, pose for an official crew portrait at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. Photo Credit: NASA/Josh Valcarel

Members of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 mission will spend the next two weeks in routine preflight quarantine at the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston ahead of their mission to the International Space Station.

NASA and SpaceX have shifted the Crew-9 launch to no earlier than Wednesday, Sept. 25, to complete prelaunch preparations and ensure separation between operations. Liftoff is targeted for 2:28 p.m. EDT from Space Launch Complex-40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft. This is the first time a human spaceflight mission will launch from the pad. Additional launch opportunities are available on Thursday, Sept. 26, Friday, Sept. 27, and Saturday, Sept. 28.

NASA astronaut Nick Hague, commander, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, mission specialist, will remain in isolation to prevent exposure to any illnesses before they join the Expedition 72 crew at the space station. As part of the Crew-9 crew, Hague and Gorbunov will join NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, who arrived to the space station in June.

Hague and Gorbunov are set to arrive at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Friday, Sept. 20, where the pair will remain in quarantine at the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building until launch.

Crew-9 is the ninth crew rotation mission with SpaceX to the space station under NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. The crew will spend approximately five months at the orbiting laboratory conducting spacewalks, research demonstrations, and experiments before returning in February 2025.

More details about the launch will be posted on the mission blog, @commercial_crew on X, or commercial crew on Facebook.