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SpaceX Crew-9

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SpaceX Crew-9
Artists' impression of a Crew Dragon approaching the forward port of Harmony on the ISS.
NamesUSCV-9
Mission typeISS crew transport
OperatorSpaceX
COSPAR ID2024-178A Edit this at Wikidata
SATCAT no.61447Edit this on Wikidata
Mission duration180 days (planned)
Spacecraft properties
SpacecraftCrew Dragon Freedom
Spacecraft typeCrew Dragon
ManufacturerSpaceX
Crew
Crew size2 up, 4 down
Members
Landing
ExpeditionExpedition 72
Start of mission
Launch dateNET 24 September 2024 (planned)
RocketFalcon 9 Block 5 (B1085.2)
Launch siteCape Canaveral, SLC‑40
End of mission
Landing dateMarch 2025 (planned)
Landing sitePacific Ocean (planned)
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric orbit
RegimeLow Earth orbit
Inclination51.66°
Docking with ISS
Docking portHarmony forward
Docking date25 September 2024 (planned)
Undocking dateOctober 2024 (planned)
Time docked30 days (planned)
Docking with ISS (relocation)
Docking portHarmony zenith
Docking dateOctober 2024 (planned)
Undocking dateMarch 2025 (planned)
Time docked150 days (planned)

SpaceX Crew-9 mission patch

SpaceX Crew-9 is planned to be the ninth operational NASA Commercial Crew Program flight and the 15th crewed orbital flight of a Crew Dragon spacecraft. Originally scheduled for 18 August 2024, the launch was delayed to 24 September due to technical issues with the Boeing Starliner.

The Crew-9 mission will mark several milestones for the Crew Dragon spacecraft. It will be the first crewed mission to launch from Cape Canaveral Space Launch Complex 40 and the first to conclude with a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean.

Crew

The mission was initially planned to transport four crew members—NASA astronauts Zena Cardman, Nick Hague, and Stephanie Wilson, along with Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov—to the International Space Station (ISS). However, due to technical issues with the Boeing Starliner, the decision was made to return the Starliner uncrewed and launch Crew-9 with two open seats to return the Boeing Crew Flight Test astronauts to Earth.[1]

Due to NASA's crew rotation agreement with Roscosmos, Gorbunov was required to fly on the mission. However, within NASA, there was disagreement over who should fill the other seat. NASA Chief Astronaut Joe Acaba has reportedly selected commander Cardman, which has been met with some concerns in the crew office.[2]

Cardman is a 36-year-old rookie and geobiologist who is not a test pilot. Gorbunov is also a rookie and not a test pilot. Hague, on the other hand, has prior spaceflight experience and is one of the few individuals who have survived a launch abort with Soyuz MS-10. This experience would make him uniquely qualified to handle the Crew Dragon spacecraft in a reduced crew configuration.[2] However, the Crew Dragon is a highly automated spacecraft, and SpaceX has successfully launched an all-civilian crew with Inspiration4, without the same rigorous astronaut candidate training that Cardman received.[3]

Prime crew
Position Launching crew Landing crew
Commander United States TBA, NASA
Expedition 72
Mission Specialist Russia Aleksandr Gorbunov, Roscosmos
Expedition 72
First spaceflight
Mission Specialist None United States Barry E. Wilmore, NASA
Expedition 72
Third spaceflight
Launched on Boeing Crew Flight Test
Mission Specialist None United States Sunita Williams, NASA
Expedition 72
Third spaceflight
Launched on Boeing Crew Flight Test

Original crew

Prime crew
Position[4] Crew
Commander United States Zena Cardman, NASA
Expedition 72
First spaceflight
Pilot United States Nick Hague, NASA
Expedition 72
Second[a] spaceflight
Mission Specialist 1 United States Stephanie Wilson, NASA
Expedition 72
Fourth spaceflight
Mission Specialist 2 Russia Aleksandr Gorbunov, Roscosmos
Expedition 72
First spaceflight
Backup crew
Position[4] Crew
Commander United States Anne McClain, NASA
Pilot United States Nichole Ayers, NASA
Mission Specialist 2 Russia Kirill Peskov, Roscosmos

Mission

SpaceX Crew-9 will be the ninth operational NASA Commercial Crew Program flight to the International Space Station (ISS) and the 15th crewed orbital mission for a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft. The flight was originally planned to deliver four crew members to the ISS for Expedition 72, a six-month science mission: NASA astronauts Zena Cardman (commander), Nick Hague (pilot), and Stephanie Wilson (mission specialist), along with Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov.[4] However, NASA decided to return the two astronauts of the Starliner crewed flight test, using Crew-9. Therefore, Crew-9 will launch with a crew of two instead.[5]

The Dragon spacecraft, named Freedom, is a veteran of previous spaceflights, including SpaceX Crew-4 and Axiom Space's Ax-2 and Ax-3 missions.[6] The Falcon 9 first-stage booster, designated B1085, will be making its second flight.

Originally scheduled for 18 August 2024, the launch has been rescheduled to 24 September due to ongoing concerns about the Boeing Starliner Calypso spacecraft of the Boeing Crew Flight Test, currently docked to the ISS. This delay provided NASA additional time to assess the Starliner's condition and develop a safe return plan for its crew.[7][8] However, it was affected by the grounding of SpaceX by the FAA.[9]

Crew-9 was slated to use Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at Kennedy Space Center—which had supported all previous SpaceX's crewed missions—when Crew-9's launch was rescheduled to 24 September, it was brought uncomfortably close to the launch NASA's Europa Clipper mission, which must launch from LC-39A during a 21-day window in early October. To avoid the scheduling conflicts and ensure ample preparation time for both missions, SpaceX will launch Crew-9 from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.[10] This will be the first crewed mission to lift off from SLC-40. SpaceX had been constructing a crew access tower at this location since 2023 to facilitate such operations.[11]

The mission is scheduled to end with a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean in March 2025, a first for a Crew Dragon mission. While Dragon 1 missions had previously landed in the Pacific, SpaceX and NASA had shifted recovery operations to the East Coast in 2019. The move allowed astronauts and critical cargo to return to Kennedy Space Center more quickly after spashdown, and SpaceX opened a facility in Florida to take in capsules after flight and prepare them for the next mission. However, the move had an unforeseen consequence, the trunk module had to be jettisoned before reentry and while the team expected it would burn up, SpaceX became aware of at least four cases of trunk debris being found on land. The shift back to Pacific Ocean splashdowns means that the trunk can stay attached longer and be directed towards a remote area of the ocean (nicknamed the Spacecraft cemetery), where any debris that survives reentry will be unlikely to cause damage.[12][13]

Notes

  1. ^ Not counting the aborted flight of Soyuz MS-10.

References

  1. ^ Taveau, Jessica (24 August 2024). "NASA Decides to Bring Starliner Spacecraft Back to Earth Without Crew". NASA. Retrieved 24 August 2024.Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  2. ^ a b Berger, Eric (23 August 2024). "Cards on the table: Are Butch and Suni coming home on Starliner or Crew Dragon?". Ars Technica. Retrieved 24 August 2024.
  3. ^ Weigel, Dana (24 August 2024). NASA's Boeing Crew Flight Test Status News Conference. NASA. Event occurs at 1:00:47. Retrieved 25 August 2024 – via YouTube. The Dragon spacecraft is highly automated. As you all know, we've used it for private astronaut missions. We do have a lot of experience taking people with much less training what our classic training is for our NASA crew and have them fly on Dragons.
  4. ^ a b c Doyle, Tiernan P. (17 July 2024). "NASA, SpaceX Invite Media to Watch Crew-9 Launch to Space Station". NASA. Retrieved 17 July 2024.
  5. ^ Daines, Gary (20 August 2024). "FAQ: NASA's Boeing Crew Flight Test Return Status". NASA. Retrieved 22 August 2024.
  6. ^ Costa, Jason (26 July 2024). "NASA, SpaceX Targeting Aug. 18 for Crew-9 Mission to Space Station". NASA. Retrieved 6 August 2024.
  7. ^ Berger, Eric (5 August 2024). "NASA likely to significantly delay the launch of Crew 9 due to Starliner issues". Ars Technica. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
  8. ^ Niles-Carnes, Elyna (6 August 2024). "NASA Adjusts Crew-9 Launch Date for Operational Flexibility". NASA. Retrieved 6 August 2024.
  9. ^ Neale, Eric Lagatta and Rick. "FAA grounds SpaceX after fiery landing of uncrewed launch: It may impact Starliner, Polaris Dawn". USA TODAY. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
  10. ^ Berger, Eric (6 August 2024). "NASA chief will make the final decision on how Starliner crew flies home". Ars Technica. Retrieved 7 August 2024. The Crew-9 mission is now expected to launch from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. This will be the first crewed launch from this complex, which SpaceX has built up in addition to its crew tower at Launch Complex 39A at nearby Kennedy Space Center.
  11. ^ Clark, Stephen (21 March 2024). "SpaceX's workhorse launch pad now has the accoutrements for astronauts". Ars Technica. Retrieved 7 August 2024.
  12. ^ Robinson-Smith, Will (26 July 2024). "NASA holds briefings on Crew 9 mission as SpaceX nears return to flight". Spaceflight Now. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
  13. ^ "Dragon Recovery to Return to the U.S. West Coast". SpaceX. 26 July 2024. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
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