NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore had to extend their stay at the International Space Station till February 2025 after Boeing Starliner was declared unfit to bring them back to Earth. But looks like the rescue mission that included SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft is also witnessing delays. As per the official handle of NASA Commercial Crew, the spacecraft will launch on September 26, instead of September 25. The reason behind the delay is not yet revealed.
As per the post, “NASA and SpaceX are targeting no earlier than Thursday, September 26 for the launch of the #Crew9 mission to the @Space_Station, with back-up dates on Friday, September 27 and Saturday, Sept. 28. Joint teams continue to work through prelaunch operations and hardware processing ahead of the first human spaceflight launch from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, while also monitoring weather ahead of liftoff.” Additionally, the crew arrival at the Kennedy Space Center is now planned for September 21.
SpaceX Crew-9 mission crew Nick Hague, commander, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, mission specialist, will remain in quarantine to prevent exposure to any illnesses before they leave for the International Space Station. Initially, this flight is intended for four astronauts but now they will bring Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore in the other two seats. The SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule will carry mass simulators instead of NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Stephanie Wilson.
Notably, the crew will spend around five months at ISS conducting spacewalks, research demonstrations, and experiments before returning in February 2025 with Williams and Wilmore onboard.
During a recent press conference, Sunita Williams stated, “There’s been a [SpaceX] Dragon spacecraft here [ISS] the whole time with the Crew-8 mission. We've had a chance to familiarise ourselves with it, working with our crew members to prepare it as our emergency escape vehicle, should we need it. We're also getting training on the Crew-9 vehicle. We’re excited about flying in two different spacecraft. As testers, that’s what we do. It’s a unique opportunity. While we initially wanted to complete the Starliner mission and land it back on Earth, sometimes you have to pivot and embrace the next opportunity.