SpaceX's Crew-9 mission will launch to the International Space Station with only NASA's Nick Hague and Roscosmos' Aleksandr Gorbunov on board, according to An update on FridayCrew 9 is set to launch “no earlier than” Sept. 24, with plans to bring delayed Starliner astronauts Barry Wilmore and Sunita Williams back to Earth next February.
NASA says the two other American astronauts initially chosen for the mission, Zena Cardman and Stephanie Wilson, will be eligible for reassignment. The agency does not specify why it split up the crew. Despite serving as transportation for the Starliner astronauts, the two Crew-9 members will carry out their original goal of conducting research on the ISS during their stay.
“While we have changed crews before for a variety of reasons, reducing the number of crew members for this flight was another difficult decision to accept, given that the crew has trained as a crew of four,” NASA Chief Astronaut Joe Acaba said in a statement. “I have the utmost confidence in our entire crew, who have been excellent throughout training for the mission.”
Meanwhile, Boeing's Starliner spacecraft will autonomously undock from the ISS on September 6th At 6:04 p.m., no one will be on board, but ground crews will be ready to “remotely control the spacecraft” if needed. The spacecraft will land at New Mexico's White Sands Spaceport about six hours later.
