SpaceX Dragon Spacecraft, Which Will Bring Back Sunita Williams, Reaches Space Station — Watch NASA Video

Crew-9 Mission Launch: NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov successfully docked with the International Space Station aboard SpaceX Dragon Freedom spacecraft.

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 members Nick Hague and Aleksandr Gorbunov join Expedition 72 aboard the International Space Station.

Source : NASA

Crew-9 Mission Launch: NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov successfully entered the International Space Station (ISS) in the early hours of Monday after docking with SpaceX’s Dragon Freedom spacecraft. The docking occurred at 3 am IST, while the ISS was orbiting 260 miles above Botswana, NASA said. Following routine safety procedures, the hatch between the ISS and the Dragon capsule was opened at 4.34 am IST.

The two spacefarers were greeted by the ISS’s Expedition 72 crew, which includes NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt, Jeanette Epps, Don Petitt, Butch Wilmore, and station commander Sunita Williams, alongside Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexander Grebenkin, Alexey Ovchinin, and Ivan Vagner. This arrival temporarily increases the number of crew members aboard the station to 11.

Dominick, Barratt, Epps, and Grebenkin, the SpaceX Crew-8 members who have been at the space station since March 5, are scheduled to return to Earth in early October.

Welcome, #Crew9! After floating through the Dragon’s hatch, our new arrivals join the crew aboard the @Space_Station. They’ll spend five months conducting @ISS_Research and maintenance on the orbiting lab. pic.twitter.com/DJX7f9vxlg

— NASA (@NASA) September 29, 2024

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SpaceX Dragon To Bring Back Sunita Williams, Butch Wilmore

Before the hatch opening, the crew aboard both the ISS and Dragon performed leak checks and pressurisation tests to ensure the safety and integrity of the spacecraft. 

NASA said Hague and Gorbunov's mission will involve conducting various scientific experiments and maintenance tasks alongside the Expedition 72 team as part of the space agency's commitment to long-duration space exploration and preparation for future lunar and Martian missions. 

Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore, whose space mission got extended after the Boeing Starliner spacecraft that took them to the ISS reported snags and had to be brought back to Earth uncrewed, will now fly back aboard this SpaceX Dragon spacecraft with the two crew members assigned to the SpaceX Crew-9 mission.