NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 Mission on Track for Saturday Launch – Space Station

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A prelaunch news briefing takes place inside the John Holliman Auditorium of the News Center at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, ahead of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 mission to the International Space Station. Photo credit: NASA

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 two-man crew is ready for their mission to the International Space Station.

NASA and mission partners held a prelaunch news conference on Sept. 27 and the 1:17 p.m. EDT Saturday, Sept. 28, liftoff remains on schedule from Space Launch Complex-40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

Launch weather officers with Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s 45th Weather Squadron predict a 55% of favorable weather conditions for the launch. The cumulus cloud rule, flight through precipitation, and surface electric fields rule are the primary weather concerns.

SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket are back on the pad and cargo loading will soon begin. Both rolled back to the hangar on Wednesday to protect from Hurricane Helene.

Crew-9 will be the first human spaceflight mission to launch from the pad, carrying NASA astronaut Nick Hague, commander, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, mission specialist, to the orbiting laboratory for a five-month science mission.

“We moved to a different pad, Space Launch Complex-40, and it’s great to have that flexibility to be able to use Launch Pad 39A or Space Launch Complex-40 for launches,” said Ken Bowersox, associate administrator, NASA’s Space Operations Mission Directorate. “I’m so proud of the commercial crew team, the International Space Station team, and our partners at SpaceX and the work they’ve done to prepare for launch.”

Watch a replay of the prelaunch news conference.

NASA’s broadcast coverage of the Crew-9 launch begins at 9:10 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 28. Watch live on NASA+ and the agency’s website. Learn how to stream NASA content through a variety of platforms, including social media.



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