NASA Delays Crew-9 Mission Yet Again, This Time To Complete Prelaunch Preparations

NASA on Thursday said that it has postponed its Crew-9 mission by a day to no earlier than Sept. 25 to complete prelaunch preparations and ensure separation between operations.

What Happened: NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov were most recently scheduled to launch on the mission no earlier than Sept. 24.

However, liftoff is now targeted for 2:28 p.m. EDT from Florida on Sept.25.

Additional launch opportunities are available on Thursday, Sept. 26, Friday, Sept. 27, and Saturday, Sept. 28, the agency added.

Multiple Delays: The Crew-9 mission has undergone significant changes over the past few months.

SpaceX‘s Crew Dragon spacecraft was initially scheduled to launch to the International Space Station (ISS) with four astronauts on Aug. 18 as part of the Crew-9 mission.

However, NASA delayed it to Sept. 24 after delays with the Boeing Starliner mission launched on June 5. Starliner and the two astronauts aboard the spacecraft – Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore – were supposed to return in about eight days. However, technical issues identified with the spacecraft while docking delayed a return, and the space agency subsequently decided to scrap bringing back the two astronauts on the Starliner spacecraft.

The Starliner subsequently returned without the astronauts on Sept. 6. Williams and 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.

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