The SpaceX’s Crew-9 mission safely landed on the ISS on September 29, 2024. NASA astronaut Colonel Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov boarded the Crew Dragon capsule named Freedom. The crew spent one day in orbit after launching from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on the 28th of September before it reached 5:30 PM EDT or 3:00 AM IST to dock. Hague is the first active U.S. A Space Force member will launch to space, underscoring the significance of this mission.

Crew-9 was the first human spaceflight ever launched from Space Launch Complex-40 (SLC-40). Astronauts Nick Hague and Aleksandr Gorbunov arrive on the ISS, making it eleven aboard. But this mission is also unique because of a decision by NASA to cut the original four-person roster of Crew-9. The mission was subsequently altered to carry only two astronauts to accommodate two astronauts already on board the ISS, which require a return trip to Earth.

Original Scheduled Mission Duration: Ten Days Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams, who flew to the ISS in June aboard the first crewed Boeing Starliner flight, were going to spend only ten days aboard the ISS. Technical problems with thrusters on the Boeing Starliner caused the astronauts to spend more time on board.

Crew-9 also signals the end of the astronauts of Crew-8, namely NASA’s Michael Barratt, Matthew Dominick, Jeanette Epps, and cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin. The four members who arrived at the station in March are expected to return to Earth shortly after the docking process is complete for Crew-9. Assuming everything goes according to plan, the four members of Crew-9 will spend about a year at the ISS-from now until February 2025-continuing to research space while maintaining ongoing operations on board the station.