New Delhi: NASA and SpaceX are gearing up for an unprecedented mission, Crew-9, aimed at returning Indian-origin astronaut Sunifdsta Williams and fellow astronaut Butch Willmore to Earth from the International Space Station (ISS) in February 2024. The mission will also involve a NASA astronaut and a Roscosmos cosmonaut embarking on a five-month science expedition aboard the ISS.
The launch is scheduled for 1:17 PM EDT (10:47 PM IST) on Saturday from the historic Space Launch Complex-40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. This marks the first human spaceflight mission to take off from this pad, a significant moment in space exploration history. Originally slated for Thursday, the launch was postponed due to adverse weather conditions caused by Hurricane Helene affecting the Gulf Coast of Florida.
However, NASA’s flight readiness review has confirmed that all systems are “go” for the mission, ensuring that the Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft are fully prepared for this critical operation. Their mission will focus on a range of scientific experiments and research during their five-month stay. The astronauts will return to Earth alongside Williams and Willmore, who have been stranded in space following an eight-day mission aboard Boeing’s Starliner, which was deemed unfit for human travel by NASA. While the Starliner safely returned, Williams and Willmore have remained aboard the ISS.
To accommodate the return of Williams and Willmore, NASA made the decision to temporarily pull Crew-9 members Zena Cardman and three-time shuttle flier Stephanie Wilson from the mission. Consequently, the Crew-9 spacecraft will fly with two empty seats, allowing for the transport of additional cargo and supplies, including a new Dragon spacesuit for Willmore, with one already aboard the ISS for Williams.
NASA has also indicated that the targeted docking time for the Crew-9 mission is approximately 5:30 PM on Sunday (3:30 AM Monday IST), marking another essential step in returning the astronauts safely home. As excitement builds for this mission, the collaboration between NASA and SpaceX continues to push the boundaries of human space exploration.