Category: Expedition 72

Station Keeps Up Biology Studies as Crew-8 Nears Departure

The SpaceX Crew-8 members say farewell to the Expedition 72 crew as they prepare for return to Earth. In the front row from left are, Alexander Grebenkin, Mike Barratt, Matthew Dominick, and Jeanette Epps. In the back row are, Butch Wilmore, Nick Hague, Don Pettit, Alexey Ovchinin, Ivan Vagner, Aleksandr Gorbunov, and Suni Williams. Credit: NASA TV
The SpaceX Crew-8 members say farewell to the Expedition 72 crew as they prepare for return to Earth. In the front row from left are, Alexander Grebenkin, Mike Barratt, Matthew Dominick, and Jeanette Epps. In the back row are, Butch Wilmore, Nick Hague, Don Pettit, Alexey Ovchinin, Ivan Vagner, Aleksandr Gorbunov, and Suni Williams. Credit: NASA TV

The Expedition 72 crew members explored how space affects exercise and plant growth on Thursday helping NASA and its international partners plan human missions farther away from Earth. The International Space Station residents are also preparing for the departure of four crewmates and continuing to maintain science and life support systems.

The lack of gravity accelerates the loss of bone and muscle mass in crew members living and working in the weightless environment of space. As a result, astronauts exercise for two hours every day to counter the space-caused physical deconditioning and maintain their health ensuring mission success. Researchers monitored NASA Flight Engineer Nick Hague as he pedaled on an exercise cycle while attached sensors and wearing breathing gear that measured his aerobic capacity. Roscosmos Flight Engineer Ivan Vagner jogged on a treadmill for a regularly scheduled fitness evaluation. Researchers monitor the workout sessions and analyze the data to ensure safe and effective workouts while living in microgravity.

Hague also joined station Commander Suni Williams and Flight Engineer Butch Wilmore, both NASA astronauts, and reviewed emergency hardware and procedures in the SpaceX Dragon Freedom spacecraft. The NASA trio then teamed up with Roscosmos Flight Engineer Aleksandr Gorbunov and called down to Earth for a conference with SpaceX mission controllers. Gorbunov launched to space aboard Freedom with Hague on Sept. 28. Williams and Wilmore will return to Earth with the Freedom  duo in February of 2025.

NASA Flight Engineers Matthew Dominick and Mike Barratt spent all day Thursday studying how to water plants in space. Barratt set up space botany hardware in the Harmony module while Dominick performed research operations for the Plant Water Management 5 experiment. The investigation explores using low-gravity watering methods such as hydroponics and aeroponics to support plant growth in space.

NASA Flight Engineers Don Pettit and Jeanette Epps focused on science maintenance during their shifts on Thursday. Pettit calibrated biology imaging hardware in the Kibo laboratory module that can detect space-caused inflammatory changes in organisms. Epps packed stem cell research hardware for return to Earth then powered down the KERMIT fluorescence microscope used to image the stem cell samples.

Meanwhile, Epps and her fellow SpaceX Crew-8 crewmates Dominick, Barratt, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin called to Mission Control in Houston on Thursday and gave their farewell remarks. The Commercial Crew quartet is targeted to undock from the Harmony’s space-facing port aboard SpaceX Dragon Endeavour no earlier than 3:05 a.m. EDT on Sunday, weather pending. NASA+ will broadcast the crew departure activities and Dragon’s parachute-assisted splashdown the following day at a site to be determined. Learn how to watch NASA content through a variety of platforms, including social media.

Watch the farewell remarks on YouTube.

Finally, Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin started his day on a space physics experiment studying how free-flying objects in microgravity move in relation to the speed and trajectory of the space station. Afterward, he spent the rest of his day servicing Roscosmos computers and ventilation systems.

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 video highlights at: https://roundupreads.jsc.nasa.gov/videoupdate/

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

Crew Studies Exercise, Veins, and Plants Before Quartet’s Farewell

The four SpaceX Crew-8 members are pictured aboard the space station. From top to bottom are, NASA astronauts Jeanette Epps, Mike Barratt, and Matthew Dominick, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin.
The four SpaceX Crew-8 members are pictured aboard the space station. From top to bottom are, NASA astronauts Jeanette Epps, Mike Barratt, and Matthew Dominick, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin.

Space biology topped the research schedule aboard the International Space Station on Wednesday as the Expedition 72 crew explored how weightlessness affects exercising, veins, and plants. Meanwhile, four SpaceX Crew-8 members continue targeting Sunday, Oct. 13, for their departure, weather pending.

Scientists are studying how to work out effectively in microgravity to prevent space-caused accelerated bone and muscle loss. NASA Flight Engineer Don Pettit, with assistance from NASA Flight Engineer Matthew Dominick, set up high-definition video cameras and a motion capture system that monitored him while working out on the advanced resistive exercise device (ARED) in the Tranquility module. The ARED mimics the inertial forces of lifting free weights on Earth to maintain muscle health during long-term space missions. Pettit’s exercise session was for the ARED Kinematics study that compares the results of both Earth and space workouts to improve space exercise programs and counter musculoskeletal deconditioning.

Commander Suni Williams took charge as the crew medical officer on Wednesday and scanned the neck, shoulder, and leg veins of NASA Flight Engineer Nick Hague using the Ultrasound 2 device examining his circulatory health. Williams also configured radio frequency hardware and serviced samples for the Gaucho Lung drug treatment study. Hague installed biology imaging hardware in the Kibo laboratory module that can detect space-caused inflammatory changes in organisms.

NASA Flight Engineer Jeanette Epps spent her day replacing components that remove carbon dioxide and ethylene from inside Kibo’s Plant Habitat to support an upcoming space botany study. NASA Flight Engineers Mike Barratt and Butch Wilmore spent their day on maintenance as Barratt charged spacewalking tool batteries and Wilmore swapped out experimental hardware for an advanced life support system study.

Roscosmos Flight Engineer Alexander Grebenkin continued packing for his return to Earth targeted for no earlier than Sunday. He will return with fellow Crew-8 members Dominick, Barratt, and Epps aboard the SpaceX Dragon Endeavour spacecraft. The Commercial Crew quartet will call down to Mission Control at 3 p.m. EDT on Thursday for farewell remarks live on NASA+. Learn how to watch NASA content through a variety of platforms, including social media.

The orbiting lab’s three other cosmonaut flight engineers Alexey Ovchinin, Ivan Vagner, and Aleksandr Gorbunov focused on their complement of Roscosmos science and maintenance. Ovchinin replaced a fire extinguisher in the Nauka science module and jogged on a treadmill for a regularly scheduled fitness evaluation. Vagner installed a hyper spectrometer to obtain Earth imagery in a variety of wavelengths. Finally, Gorbunov set up carbon dioxide monitoring gear, tested Roscosmos laptop computers, and conducted a space physics experiment. Gorbunov also joined Hague at the end of the day and discussed with mission controllers their experience riding to space aboard the SpaceX Dragon Freedom.

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 video highlights at: https://roundupreads.jsc.nasa.gov/videoupdate/

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

Biology, Physics Research Fill Schedule as Crew Awaits Departure

Category 5 Hurricane Milton, packing winds of 175 miles per hour, is viewed in the Gulf of Mexico from the space station as it orbited overhead. Credit: NASA TV
Category 5 Hurricane Milton, packing winds of 175 miles per hour, is viewed in the Gulf of Mexico from the space station as it orbited overhead. Credit: NASA TV

Space biology and physics were the main focus of research operations for the Expedition 72 crew aboard the International Space Station on Monday. Meanwhile, four Commercial Crew members are waiting for their final departure date before returning to Earth.

NASA Flight Engineer Nick Hague worked in the Columbus laboratory module swapping filters inside the BioLab’s incubator. BioLab supports the observation of microbes, cells, tissue cultures and more to understand the effects of weightlessness and radiation on organisms. NASA Flight Engineer Don Pettit set up a laptop computer on the Cell Biology Experiment Facility, a research incubator with an artificial gravity generator, located in the Kibo laboratory module.

Station Commander Suni Williams explored space physics on Monday mixing gel samples and observing with a fluorescence microscope how particles of different sizes gel and coarsen. Results are expected to benefit the medicine, food, and cosmetic industries. NASA astronaut Butch Wilmore, who has been aboard the station with Williams since June 6, trained to operate advanced life support gear installed in the Microgravity Science Glovebox for a different space physics experiment then relaxed the rest of the day.

Roscosmos Flight Engineer Aleksandr Gorbunov wore a sensor-packed cap that recorded his responses as he practiced futuristic planetary piloting techniques on computer. Flight Engineer Alexey Ovchinin inspected and cleaned the Electromagnetic Levitator that can levitate samples exposed to high temperatures for thermophysical research. Flight Engineer Ivan Vagner started out his day cleaning smoke detectors and testing batteries before ending his shift imaging Earth’s nighttime atmosphere in near-ultraviolet wavelengths.

NASA Flight Engineers Matthew Dominick and Mike Barratt, both SpaceX Crew-8 members, began the day in the Tranquility module unpacking and transferring cargo stowed in the NanoRacks Bishop airlock. More than just a stowage module, Bishop can also house science experiments that can also be placed in the external microgravity environment.

The two other crewmates representing Crew-8, Flight Engineers Jeanette Epps of NASA and Alexander Grebenkin of Roscosmos, spent their day packing cargo inside the Dragon Endeavour, handing over their mission responsibilities, and relaxing.

The four Crew-8 members will wait a few more days before saying farewell to the Expedition 72 crew aboard the orbital outpost. Mission managers are monitoring weather conditions off the coast of Florida and will announce an undocking and splashdown time and date, weather pending, for the foursome inside Endeavour.

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 video highlights at: https://roundupreads.jsc.nasa.gov/videoupdate/

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

Dragon Operations Continue During Stem Cell Research on Station

The 11-member Expedition 72 crew poses for a portrait inside Harmony module. In the front (from left) are, Butch Wilmore, Nick Hague, Matthew Dominick, Aleksandr Gorbunov, and Suni Williams. In the back are, Jeanette Epps, Aleksandr Grebenkin, Mike Barratt, Ivan Vagner, Don Pettit, and Alexey Ovchinin.
The 11-member Expedition 72 crew poses for a portrait inside Harmony module. In the front (from left) are, Butch Wilmore, Nick Hague, Matthew Dominick, Aleksandr Gorbunov, and Suni Williams. In the back are, Jeanette Epps, Aleksandr Grebenkin, Mike Barratt, Ivan Vagner, Don Pettit, and Alexey Ovchinin.

The Expedition 72 crew continued working inside the two SpaceX Dragon spacecraft docked to the International Space Station on Friday. The orbital residents also kept up stem cell research, serviced a  pair of spacesuits, and maintained life support systems at the end of the week.

Three NASA astronauts and one Roscosmos cosmonaut representing NASA’s SpaceX Crew-8 are nearing the end of a seven-month mission and are waiting for NASA and SpaceX to announce their return to Earth time and date, pending weather. Dragon Endeavour Commander Matthew Dominick is poised to lead Pilot Mike Barratt with Mission Specialists Jeanette Epps and Alexander Grebenkin back to Earth inside Dragon with a splashdown off the coast of Florida. The quartet has been packing cargo and personal items inside the spacecraft for several days and spent the end of the day Friday reviewing emergency equipment.

The space station’s two newest crew members, NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, joined Expedition 72 Commander Suni Williams and Flight Engineer Butch Wilmore inside Dragon Freedom and trained the duo on Dragon operations. Hague also worked with Barratt and NASA Flight Engineer Don Pettit inside Freedom configuring its seats for docked operations.

Stem cell research has been underway aboard the orbital outpost this week using the microgravity environment to learn how to produce advanced cell-based therapies and treat certain blood diseases and cancers. Williams and Epps partnered together processing stem cell samples and peering at them with through a microscope. Researchers are exploring how weightlessness enables stem cells to produce blood and immune cells with superior attributes than those created on Earth.

Wilmore spent his day in the Quest airlock servicing a pair of U.S. spacesuits. The veteran NASA astronaut swapped out components and cleaned cooling loops inside the suits as part of regularly scheduled maintenance.

Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner, who have been aboard the orbital lab with Pettit since Sept. 11, split their day with computer maintenance and life support operations. They also joined Gorbunov and recorded a video for educators and students on Earth. Grebenkin inventoried medical gear and tested power supply systems in the Nauka science module.

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 video highlights at: https://roundupreads.jsc.nasa.gov/videoupdate/

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

Ongoing Crew Return Preps and Biology, Earth Science Top Crew’s Day

The four SpaceX Crew-8 members are pictured during pre-flight training in January inside the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. Credit: SpaceX
The four SpaceX Crew-8 members are pictured during pre-flight training in January inside the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. Credit: SpaceX

Dragon configurations topped the schedule once again on Thursday as four Expedition 72 crewmates target a return to Earth next week. Meanwhile, critical space research and lab maintenance filled the rest of the day for the International Space Station’s orbital residents.

The SpaceX Crew-8 mission that began with a launch to the orbital outpost on March 3 is coming to an end and its four crew members will share their farewell message at 9:55 a.m. EDT on Sunday live on NASA+. NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick, Mike Barratt, and Jeanette Epps, along with Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin will return to Earth aboard SpaceX Dragon Endeavour next week on a date soon to be announced by NASA and SpaceX officials. The Commercial Crew quartet is completing a six-and-a-month space residency that saw dozens of science investigations promoting advanced therapies, technology demonstrations, and more benefitting humans on and off the Earth.

Dominick spent Thursday inside Dragon Endeavour checking seat configurations and synchronizing computer tablets with SpaceX networks ahead of Earth return. Barratt joined NASA Flight Engineer Nick Hague inside Dragon Freedom, docked adjacent to Endeavour on the Harmony module, and set up the spacecraft with standard emergency hardware.

Hague’s SpaceX Crew-9 crewmate, Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, kicked off his shift setting up hardware to monitor Earth’s nighttime atmosphere in near-ultraviolet wavelengths. Later, the first-time space flyer studied space station systems and procedures then serviced an oxygen generator

Epps and Grebenkin have also been preparing for the ride back to Earth. Epps packed personal items and cargo inside Dragon. Grebenkin completed testing the Roscosmos-designed lower body negative pressure suit that may speed up a crew member’s adjustment to Earth’s gravity.

Expedition 72 Commander Suni Williams, who will be staying in space until February 2025, began her day with a cognition test measuring how microgravity affects characteristics such as memory, attention, reasoning, and more to ensure safe and successful space missions. Afterward, she assembled stem cell research hardware in the Life Science Glovebox then installed new wireless hardware aboard Harmony.

NASA Flight Engineer Butch Wilmore, who will return to Earth with Williams, documented his meals for the day in a nutrition tracker. Afterward, he assisted with cargo packing inside the homebound Dragon Endeavour.

NASA astronaut Don Pettit and his Soyuz MS-26 crewmates, cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner had their day full of science maintenance and health research. Pettit, on his fourth spaceflight, swapped gas bottles inside research hardware that explores how fires spread in weightlessness to improve fire safety in space. Ovchinin and Vagner paired up for blood pressure measurements and hearing exams helping inform doctors how living in microgravity affects humans.

On Friday at 11 a.m., NASA astronaut Tracy C. Dyson will discuss on NASA+ her recently completed mission aboard the orbiting lab. She launched to the station on March 23 and returned to Earth aboard the Soyuz MS-25 crew ship with cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub on Sept. 23.

Dragon Suit, Seat Checks During Crew Departure Preps and Space Science

The SpaceX Dragon Freedom spacecraft carrying NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov approaches the International Space Station on Sept. 29, 2024.
The SpaceX Dragon Freedom spacecraft carrying NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov approaches the International Space Station on Sept. 29, 2024.

Expedition 72 Commander Suni Williams and Flight Engineer Butch Wilmore, both NASA astronauts, tried on their SpaceX Dragon pressure suits for the first time on Tuesday with assistance from new crewmate Nick Hague of NASA. The NASA trio checked out their pressurized suits, tested the suits’ audio configurations, and conducted seat fit checks inside the Dragon Freedom spacecraft while wearing the suits.

The three astronauts later joined Roscosmos Flight Engineer Aleksandr Gorbunov and practiced emergency drills inside the Dragon docked to the Harmony module’s forward port. Williams and Wilmore, who rode the Boeing Starliner spacecraft to the International Space Station in June, will return to Earth with Hague and Gorbunov aboard the Dragon spacecraft in February.

In the meantime, four other Expedition 72 crewmates are nearing the end of their space research mission that began on March 5. NASA astronaut Matthew Dominick will command the SpaceX Dragon Endeavour spacecraft leading Pilot Mike Barratt and Mission Specialists Jeanette Epps and Alexander Grebenkin back to Earth on a date soon to be set by NASA and SpaceX mission managers. The homebound SpaceX Crew-8 quartet has been packing personal items and other station cargo inside Endeavour for the ride home. Grebenkin also tested the Roscosmos-designed lower body negative pressure suit that may help ease the adjustment to Earth’s gravity and offset space-caused symptoms.

NASA Flight Engineer Don Pettit and Roscosmos Flight Engineers Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner, who have been aboard the orbital outpost since Sept. 11, spent Tuesday working on a variety of physics and biology investigations. Pettit worked inside the Microgravity Science Glovebox testing advanced life support hardware that may be used on future space missions operating in different gravity environments. Ovchinin strapped on a sensor-packed cap that measured his responses while practicing futuristic planetary and robotic piloting techniques on a computer. Vagner assisted Grebenkin as he tried on the specialized suit that may counteract the effects of living in weightlessness.

At the end of the crew shift on Tuesday, all 11 space station crew residents gathered together and reviewed their roles and responsibilities in the unlikely event of an emergency. The orbital crew coordinated with mission controllers from around the world familiarizing themselves with using personal protective equipment and fire extinguishers. The astronauts and cosmonauts also reviewed the necessary actions and evacuation procedures in case of a fire, a chemical leak, or a pressure leak.

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 video highlights at: https://roundupreads.jsc.nasa.gov/videoupdate/

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

Expedition 72 Welcomes New Crew, Crew-8 Departing Soon

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

The seven astronauts and four cosmonauts representing the Expedition 72 crew slept in on Monday working half-a-day during the afternoon following Sunday’s arrival of the SpaceX Crew-9 mission.

The International Space Station’s two newest crew members, Nick Hague of NASA and Aleksandr Gorbunov of Roscosmos, launched to the orbital outpost aboard the SpaceX Dragon at 1:17 p.m. EDT on Saturday. The duo docked to the Harmony module’s forward port at 5:30 p.m. on Sunday beginning a five-month space research mission.

Hague, on his second spaceflight, began his day on Monday afternoon joining NASA Flight Engineer Jeanette Epps as she demonstrated how to operate the advanced resistive exercise device to maintain muscle and bone mass in weightlessness. Afterward, he joined NASA Flight Engineer Matthew Dominick and transferred standard emergency gear inside the newly arrived Dragon spacecraft.

Gorbunov kicked off his first full day on the orbital lab getting familiar with life on the space station and learning its systems and procedures. Next, he joined fellow cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin who began handing over his mission responsibilities to Gorbunov.

Flight Engineers Mike Barratt and Butch Wilmore with Commander Suni Williams, all three from NASA, helped unpack cargo and fresh scientific samples from Dragon. The trio removed and stowed a variety of crew supplies and station hardware then transferred portable science freezers containing the research samples and installed them inside station science freezers for preservation and later analysis.

Having been aboard the space station since Sept. 11, NASA Flight Engineer Don Pettit spent his shift on orbital plumbing duties, analyzing station water for microbes, and configuring specialized watches that monitor a crew member’s sleep/wake cycle. His Soyuz MS-26 crewmates, Flight Engineers Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner, spent the day servicing electronics systems and Earth observation hardware.

The next crew to depart the orbital outpost, SpaceX Crew-8, has been stepping up its cargo packing duties and mission handover responsibilities the last several days. NASA and SpaceX are evaluating departure opportunities before Dominick leads Barratt, Epps and Grebenkin back to Earth inside Dragon ending a six-and-a-half-month mission orbiting Earth.

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

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/

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

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

SpaceX Crew-9 Approaching Station Live on NASA+

SpaceX Crew-9 members (from left) Mission Specialist Aleksandr Gorbunov from Roscosmos and Commander Nick Hague from NASA pose for an official crew portrait at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. Credit: NASA/Josh Valcarel
SpaceX Crew-9 members (from left) Mission Specialist Aleksandr Gorbunov from Roscosmos and Commander Nick Hague from NASA pose for an official crew portrait at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. Credit: NASA/Josh Valcarel

NASA+, YouTube, and the agency’s website are continuing to provide live coverage of the agency’s SpaceX Crew-9 mission carrying NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov to the International Space Station.

The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft is scheduled to dock about 5:30 p.m. EDT, Sunday, Sept. 29. Dragon is designed to dock autonomously, but the crew aboard the spacecraft and the space station will monitor the performance of the spacecraft as it approaches and docks to the forward port of the station’s Harmony module.

When the hatches open at about one hour and 45 minutes after docking, the Crew-9 astronauts will join the 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.

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