NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov (SpaceX crew) finally docked with the International Space Station on Sunday after months of suspense. They flew in to bring back Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore, who reached the station in June 2024 onboard the SpaceX Dragon capsule.
As Hague and Gorbunov entered the station, they were welcomed by the other astronauts on Expeditions 72. Including NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore. SpaceX launched their recovery mission this Saturday to return the two astronauts next year.
The opening of the hatch between the space station and the pressurized mating adapter occurred at 7:04 p.m. EDT by Hague and Gorbunov, who proceeded inside the Dragon capsule. NASA named these details in a statement.
Hague and Gorbunov were welcomed aboard the space station by the ISS crew of NASA astronauts. That includes Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt, Jeanette Epps, Don Petitt, Butch Wilmore, and Sunita Williams. Also part of the crew are Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexander Grebenkin, Alexey Ovchinin, and Ivan Vagner.
The moment was shared in a post by NASA’s Johnson Space Center on X: “The official welcome! Expedition 72 crew welcomed Crew 9, NASA astronaut Nick Hague, the Crew 9 commander. And cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, the Crew 9 mission specialist. After their flight aboard the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft.”
The ISS now carried 11 people for a little while, which includes the number of crew aboard. This happened because Crew-8 members Dominick, Barratt, Epps, and Grebenkin would return to Earth at the beginning of October.
On Saturday, SpaceX launched a reduced two-man crew to the ISS. The mission carried supplies and left two empty seats for Starliner astronauts who will be going home in February after an unplanned eight-and-a-half-month stay in orbit, CBS News reported.
The weather delayed the launch by two days due to high winds, rain, and clouds from Hurricane Helene. It was finally time to launch. However, and the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket began its flight off pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 1:17 p.m. EDT. It headed out on a northeastern trajectory, placing it directly into the orbital plane of the ISS.
Inside the Crew Dragon “Freedom,” Hague watched the automated ascent with Gorbunov, who flew for the first time. Typically, Crew Dragons launch into space with four crew members. In August, NASA also removed two Crew 9 astronauts—Stephanie Wilson and Zena Cardman—from the mission. That freed up space for Starliner commander Barry “Butch” Wilmore. And pilot Sunita Williams when Crew Dragon returns to Earth in February.
Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore have been at the ISS since June. They launched aboard Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft on June 5 for its first crewed flight. And it arrived at the space station on June 6.
The program accordingly ordered NASA to return Starliner to Earth sans its crew. It returned on September 6 after NASA said it was “too risky” to return Wilmore and Williams. Since then, Wilmore and Williams continued their duties as part of the expedition. And are set to return in February next year. This extension turned what should have been a week-long test flight into nearly eight months.
“Wilmore and Williams will continue their work as part of the Expedition 71/72 crew through February 2025. They will fly home aboard a Dragon spacecraft with two other crew members from SpaceX Crew-9,” NASA said. Starliner is also heading for a safe, controlled autonomous re-entry and landing in early September.
ANI