SpaceX carries out regular missions every six months to allow rotation of ISS crews.
A SpaceX rocket took off into the sky on Saturday with two passengers on board, leaving two empty seats to bring back American astronauts stranded for months on the International Space Station, NASA said.
The Falcon 9 rocket lifted off at 1:17 p.m. (5:17 p.m. GMT) from Cape Canaveral, Florida. It used a new launch pad, the first use of the platform for a crewed mission.
“Congratulations to @NASA and @SpaceX on this successful launch,” NASA chief Bill Nelson said in an article on X. “We are living in an exciting time of exploration and innovation in the stars. “
On board were NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Gorbunov.
When they return from the space station in February, they will bring back two space veterans, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, whose stay on the ISS was extended for months due to problems with their Starliner spacecraft, designed by Boeing.
The newly developed Starliner was making its first crewed flight when it delivered Wilmore and Williams to the ISS in June.
They were supposed to stay there for only eight days, but after problems with the Starliner’s propulsion system emerged during the flight, NASA was forced to consider a drastic change in its plans.
“A little unique”
After weeks of intensive testing of the Starliner’s reliability, the space agency finally decided to return it to Earth without its crew, and bring the two stranded astronauts home as part of the SpaceX Crew-9 mission.
American astronaut Nick Hague (right) and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Gorbunov walk toward a launch pad at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
“We know that this launch is a little bit unique in that it’s going from one crew member plan to two,” NASA Associate Administrator Jim Free told reporters.
“I want to thank SpaceX for their support and flexibility.”
SpaceX, the private company founded by billionaire Elon Musk, carries out regular missions every six months to allow for the rotation of ISS crews.
But Crew-9’s launch was delayed from mid-August to late September to give NASA experts more time to assess the Starliner’s reliability and decide what to do next.
It was then delayed for a few more days by the destructive passage of Hurricane Helen, a powerful storm which hit the opposite coast of Florida on Thursday.
SpaceX’s Dragon ship is expected to dock with the ISS on Sunday around 9:30 p.m. GMT.
After authorizing the handover, the four members of Crew-8 will return to Earth aboard another SpaceX vessel.
Flight Commander Nick Hague of NASA greets his family members before heading to the launch pad at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
In total, Hague and Gorbounov will spend around five months on the ISS; Wilmore and Williams, eight months.
In total, Crew-9 will conduct some 200 scientific experiments.
© 2024 AFP
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