NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov are set to launch no earlier than Tuesday, September 24, as part of the SpaceX Crew-9 mission to the International Space Station (ISS). Originally planned as a four-person crew, NASA recently updated the mission to include just Hague and Gorbunov, with the agency’s astronauts Zena Cardman and Stephanie Wilson now eligible for reassignment on a future mission.
Hague will serve as the mission commander, and Gorbunov will take on the role of mission specialist. This decision follows NASA’s move to downsize the crew for this flight after opting to return the Boeing Crew Flight Test uncrewed. Hague and Gorbunov will travel aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft, with two unoccupied seats on this mission. NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, who launched aboard the Starliner spacecraft in June, are scheduled to return to Earth with Hague and Gorbunov in February 2025.
The updated crew was selected by NASA’s chief astronaut, Joe Acaba, from the Johnson Space Center in Houston. Acaba balanced the need for a seasoned NASA astronaut to command the flight with the necessity of having a Roscosmos cosmonaut who can operate critical Russian systems aboard the ISS. “Downsizing the crew was a tough decision, but I have the utmost confidence in our team,” Acaba said, highlighting the professionalism of all the astronauts involved. Despite the change, Cardman and Wilson will continue to support the mission and look forward to their future assignments.
Cardman expressed her pride in the crew, stating, “I am confident Nick and Alex will step into their roles with excellence. Stephanie and I remain dedicated to the mission’s success and look forward to flying when the time is right.” Wilson echoed this sentiment, adding, “Nick and Alex will do a great job aboard the ISS as part of Expedition 72.”
For Hague, this will be his third spaceflight and second mission to the ISS. Hague, an active-duty colonel in the U.S. Space Force, has previously logged 203 days in space. His first mission in 2018 ended in a dramatic in-flight abort after a rocket booster failure, but he later successfully launched aboard Soyuz MS-12, participating in spacewalks to upgrade ISS systems. Hague’s extensive experience includes working on the Boeing Starliner Program until his current flight assignment. Followers can stay updated with Hague’s journey on X and Instagram @astrohague.
This mission will mark Gorbunov’s first journey to space. Born in Zheleznogorsk in Russia’s Kursk region, Gorbunov holds an engineering degree in spacecraft and upper stages from the Moscow Aviation Institute. Before being selected as a cosmonaut in 2018, Gorbunov worked as an engineer at Rocket Space Corp. Energia and played a key role in supporting cargo spacecraft launches from Baikonur Cosmodrome.
Once aboard the ISS, Hague and Gorbunov will join the Expedition 72 crew, which includes Wilmore, Williams, NASA astronaut Don Pettit, and Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner. Together, they will contribute to scientific research and maintenance activities as the ISS enters its 24th year of continuous human presence in space.–News Desk