NASA astronaut Nick Hague (left) and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov are scheduled to launch to the International Space Station as part of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 mission no earlier than 2:05 p.m. EDT Thursday, Sept. 26. Photo Credit: SpaceX
Coverage is set for NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, who are scheduled to launch no earlier than 2:05 p.m. EDT Thursday, Sept. 26, aboard NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 mission to the International Space Station.
Hague and Gorbunov are scheduled to arrive at approximately 1:30 p.m. EDT Saturday, Sept. 21, touching down at the Launch and Landing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
After landing, the crewmates will join NASA Kennedy leadership to make brief remarks and answer questions from the media. Additional participants include:
Kelvin Manning, deputy director, NASA Kennedy
Dana Hutcherson, deputy program manager, Commercial Crew Program, NASA Kennedy
Live coverage of the crew’s arrival will stream on NASA+ and the agency’s website. Learn how to stream NASA content through a variety of platforms, including social media.
The Crew-9 mission to the space station will be the first human spaceflight mission to launch from Space Launch Complex-40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. This is the ninth crew rotation mission with SpaceX to the orbiting laboratory under NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. The crew will spend approximately five months at the station, conducting more than 200 science and research demonstrations before returning in February 2025.
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.
