NASA's SpaceX Crew-9 mission is scheduled to launch from Cape Canaveral on September 25 and will be executed by NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos astronaut Aleksandr Gorbunov.

SpaceXCrew-9 members (from left) mission specialist Aleksandr Gorbunov from Roscosmos and commander Nick Hague from NASA pose for a photo at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. Image credit: NASA/JoshValcarel

The team members will be quarantined at Johnson Space Center for five months before entering the space station for research and spacewalks. The launch marked the first human spaceflight from this specific launch pad, and several alternate dates were provided.

Members of NASA's SpaceX Crew-9 mission will spend two weeks at Johnson Space Center in Houston for a routine pre-flight quarantine period before heading to the International Space Station for their mission.

NASA and Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SpaceX) have changed the launch time of Crew-9 to no earlier than Wednesday, September 25 to complete pre-launch preparations and ensure separation between operations. Crew-9 will launch from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Station in Florida at 2:28 p.m. ET on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Dragon spacecraft named "Freedom." This is the first time a manned space mission has been launched from the launch pad. There are additional launch opportunities on Thursday, September 26, Friday, September 27, and Saturday, September 28.

NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov. Source: NASA

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

Haig and Gorbunov will arrive at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Friday, September 20, where they will remain quarantined in the Neil Armstrong Operations and Inspection Building until launch.

Crew-9 is the ninth crew rotation mission sent by SpaceX to the space station under NASA's Commercial Crew Program. The crew will stay at the orbiting laboratory for approximately five months, conducting space walks, research demonstrations, and experiments before returning in February 2025.

Compiled from /ScitechDaily