Only two astronauts will launch on NASA’s upcoming SpaceX Crew-9 mission instead of four to accommodate the two astronauts who arrived at the station aboard Boeing’s BA Starliner spacecraft, the space agency said on Friday.
What Happened: NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov will launch on the SpaceX Crew 9 mission to the International Space Station (ISS) no earlier than Sept. 24 on a four-seat SpaceX Dragon spacecraft.
Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore, who are currently at the station, will join Hague and Gorbunov on their return journey to Earth in February 2025, the agency said.
NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Stephanie Wilson, who were previously slated to fly on crew 9, will now be reassigned to a future mission, NASA added.
"While we've changed crew before for a variety of reasons, downsizing crew for this flight was another tough decision to adjust to given that the crew has trained as a crew of four," NASA chief astronaut Joe Acaba said.
Why It Matters: Williams and Wilmore launched into space on June 5 aboard Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft.
Though the two were supposed to return in about eight days, technical issues were identified with the spacecraft while docking delayed the return journey. NASA agency subsequently decided to scrap the plan to bring the astronauts back on the Boeing spacecraft altogether.
Starliner will now undock from the space station as early as Sept. 6 and return to Earth without a crew.
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