On Sunday, SpaceX's Crew-9 mission successfully docked with the International Space Station (ISS), marking the beginning of the long-awaited return journey for two astronauts stranded aboard the orbiting laboratory. The mission, launched by a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida, took off at 1:17 pm on Saturday and docked with the ISS at 5:30 pm the following day.

NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Gorbunov, aboard the Crew-9 Dragon spacecraft, were warmly greeted by their fellow astronauts upon boarding the station just after 7:00 pm. "What a fabulous day it was today," NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy remarked at a press conference following the successful docking.

Hague and Gorbunov are scheduled to spend five months aboard the ISS, where they will conduct around 200 scientific experiments. Upon their return in February, they will bring home NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, whose mission was unexpectedly extended due to technical issues with Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft.

Wilmore and Williams were originally expected to remain on the ISS for only eight days after arriving in June aboard the Starliner on its first crewed flight. However, propulsion system problems prompted NASA to delay their return. After weeks of testing, NASA decided to return the Starliner to Earth unmanned, leaving the two astronauts stranded. SpaceX’s Crew-9 was tasked with their rescue, postponing its launch from mid-August to late September due to technical reviews and delays caused by Hurricane Helene’s impact on Florida.

The success of Crew-9 highlights SpaceX's vital role in NASA’s crew rotation missions to the ISS, occurring every six months. The mission not only resolves the Starliner setback but also demonstrates SpaceX's reliability in ensuring the safe return of stranded astronauts.

On Sunday, SpaceX's Crew-9 mission successfully docked with the International Space Station (ISS), marking the beginning of the long-awaited return journey for two astronauts stranded aboard the orbiting laboratory. The mission, launched by a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida, took off at 1:17 pm on Saturday and docked with the ISS at 5:30 pm the following day.

NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Gorbunov, aboard the Crew-9 Dragon spacecraft, were warmly greeted by their fellow astronauts upon boarding the station just after 7:00 pm. "What a fabulous day it was today," NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy remarked at a press conference following the successful docking.

Hague and Gorbunov are scheduled to spend five months aboard the ISS, where they will conduct around 200 scientific experiments. Upon their return in February, they will bring home NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, whose mission was unexpectedly extended due to technical issues with Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft.

Wilmore and Williams were originally expected to remain on the ISS for only eight days after arriving in June aboard the Starliner on its first crewed flight. However, propulsion system problems prompted NASA to delay their return. After weeks of testing, NASA decided to return the Starliner to Earth unmanned, leaving the two astronauts stranded. SpaceX’s Crew-9 was tasked with their rescue, postponing its launch from mid-August to late September due to technical reviews and delays caused by Hurricane Helene’s impact on Florida.

The success of Crew-9 highlights SpaceX's vital role in NASA’s crew rotation missions to the ISS, occurring every six months. The mission not only resolves the Starliner setback but also demonstrates SpaceX's reliability in ensuring the safe return of stranded astronauts.