A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched the Dragon spacecraft's ninth operational human spaceflight mission (Crew-9) for NASA with astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov to the International Space Station from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 1:17 p.m. on 28 September 2024. During their time on the orbiting laboratory, the crew will conduct over 200 scientific experiments and technology demonstrations to prepare for human exploration beyond low-Earth orbit and to benefit humanity on Earth.

The Dragon spacecraft supporting this mission previously flew the Crew-4, Ax-2, and Ax-3 missions to and from the International Space Station. Following stage separation, Falcon 9’s first stage landed on Landing Zone 1 (LZ-1) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov are preparing to launch on the agency’s SpaceX Crew-9 mission to the International Space Station.

The flight is the ninth crew rotation mission with SpaceX to the station under NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. The duo will lift off aboard the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft, which previously flew NASA’s SpaceX Crew-4, Axiom Mission 2 and Axiom Mission 3, from Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

Once aboard the space station, Hague and Gorbunov will become members of the Expedition 72 crew and perform research, technology demonstrations, and maintenance activities. The pair will join NASA astronauts Don Petitt, Butch Wilmore, Suni Williams, as well as Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner.

Wilmore and Williams, who launched aboard the Starliner spacecraft in June, will fly home with Hague and Gorbunov in February 2025.