NASA readies for the historic mission as it sends Crew-9 astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) on Saturday, Sept. 28.
The ISS will host a special mission conducted in cooperation with SpaceX-the first to employ a newly upgraded launch pad and bring two astronauts back home after a much longer than usual stay aboard the ISS.
SpaceX Falcon 9 and Dragon Spacecraft Stand Ready for Liftoff
NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Alexandr Gorbunov will blast off aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft on the Crew-9 mission to the ISS. According to Space.com, liftoff is set for 1:17 p.m. EDT from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
"All systems are 'go' for launch," confirmed Steve Stich, NASA's Commercial Crew Program manager, while final preparations, including cargo loading, are already underway.
To see the live event, viewers can watch on Space.com or on the official NASA YouTube channel, starting at 9:10 a.m. EDT. This much-awaited mission is a continuation of the continued partnership between NASA and SpaceX, and even exposed the flexibility and ingenuity of the methods used when traveling into space.
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Changes with Boeing Starliner Astronauts
The Crew-9 will be different from other missions because this time, it will have only two astronauts on board instead of the usual four. This has come after the two astronauts, Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams who had been camping at the ISS since June through their Boeing Starliner, unexpectedly returned to Earth with their initial scheduled return to Earth on day eight of the mission.
Their mission was set to end on day eight in their Starliner capsule but NASA called back the Starliner without the astronauts aboard following thruster system concerns that extended their eight-day mission to eight months.
To accommodate the return, NASA took astronauts Zena Cardman and Stephanie Wilson off the Crew-9 manifest and placed critical supplies in their seats, which included a much-needed new Dragon spacesuit for Wilmore. Despite this development, NASA says there will not be a lack of opportunity for the flights again by Cardman and Wilson in the future.
SpaceX's New Launch Pad Increases Flexibility
Another aspect of the Crew-9 mission is that it will be launched from the Space Launch Complex-40 located at Cape Canaveral, marking the first crewed launch SpaceX will ever make from this site.
All the crewed missions, up to now, launched astronauts from Kennedy Space Center's historic Launch Complex 39A, a launching pad also used by Apollo and Space Shuttle missions.
The SLC-40 pad has been adapted to add crew access facilities, an emergency escape system, and all the other changes required to support human spaceflight.
A vantage point of that flexibility is expressed by Bill Gerstenmaier, vice president of build and flight reliability at SpaceX: "Having multiple launch sites affords us a degree of flexibility in scheduling complex missions."
This new pad will enable SpaceX to balance multiple missions simultaneously, such as launching the NASA Europa Clipper mission on a Falcon Heavy rocket on Oct. 10.
Weather and Launch Preparation
Weather is a factor, pushing the scheduled launch for Sept. 26 to another day. Conditions are improving already, and prospects exist for Saturday with chances at 55%. Prospects for success appear higher in the backup opportunities available this weekend: Sunday and Monday.
Preparations ahead of the launch are being made by SpaceX, which saw additional cleanings on the Dragon capsule after the strong winds resulted in a soot collection during the test of the engine. These maintenance activities would help ensure the proper working of radiators and solar arrays aboard the spacecraft as it goes about its mission.
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