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Live stream of the rendezvous and docking of SpaceX Crew-9 at the International Space Station ISS. The docking schedule is related to the launch of SpaceX Crew 9, now NET (not earlier than) September 28, 1:17 p.m. EDT, 1717 UTC, 19:17 CEST from SLC-40 of the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The docking is scheduled for September 29, 5:30 p.m. EDT, 2130 UTC and 23:30 CEST. The original assigned crew comprised Commander Zena Cardman (NASA - 1st spaceflight), Pilot Nick Hague (NASA - 2nd spaceflight), Mission Specialist Stephanie Wilson (NASA - 4th spaceflight), and Roscosmos cosmonaut Mission Specialist Alexandr Gorbunov (1st spaceflight) initially. Due to the anomalies of the thrusters of the service module of Boeing's Starliner spacecraft during the CTF mission with NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, NASA decided after weeks that the crew of SpaceX Crew 9 had been reduced to two crew members to make seats available for the crew of the Starliner who will remain onboard the ISS. They will fly back with the SpaceX Crew 9 in February 2025. NASA astronaut Nick Haque will command Space X Crew-9, and Russian Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Gorbunov will act as Mission Specialist. NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Stephanie Wilson, previously announced as crewmates, are eligible for reassignment on a future mission. 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. With 203 days logged in space, this will be Hague’s 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. The mission will last at least 180 days, and a return to Earth is expected no earlier than February 2025.
