SpaceX Launches Crew-9 Mission to Rescue Stranded NASA Astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore

Sep 28, 2024, 05:22 PM

SpaceX has successfully launched the Crew-9 mission, which aims to return two NASA astronauts, Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore, who have been stranded at the International Space Station (ISS) until next year. The mission took off from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral using the Falcon 9 rocket with the Dragon Freedom spacecraft at 1:17pm ET. This marks SpaceX's 15th human spaceflight mission and the first flight of astronauts from SLC-40 after supporting 261 uncrewed launches. The booster successfully landed on Landing Zone 1 following stage separation. The mission also includes NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roskosmos civilian astronaut Aleksandr Gorbunov. The astronauts are expected to dock at the ISS tomorrow at approximately 5:30pm ET.