SpaceX launches a mission to rescue trapped astronauts – 09/29/2024 – Science

The SpaceX mission launched on Saturday (28), with two passengers on board to rescue American astronauts who had been trapped for several months on the International Space Station (ISS).

The Falcon 9 rocket lifted off at 12:17 p.m. in Brasilia, from Cape Canaveral, Florida, in a launch from a platform used for the first time on a manned mission.

“Congratulations to NASA and SpaceX on this successful launch,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson wrote.

“We live in an exciting time of exploration and innovation,” he added.

On board are NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Gorbunov.

When they return in February, they are expected to take astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sonny Williams with them.

Both lifted off in early June aboard a new spacecraft developed by Boeing, Starliner, as part of the first crewed test flight to the International Space Station.

The spacecraft was supposed to return them to Earth after eight days, but problems discovered in the propulsion system led NASA to question its reliability.

After long weeks of testing, the space agency recovered the empty Boeing capsule and decided to return the castaways on the SpaceX mission, called Crew-9.

“We know this launch is unique, with only two passengers,” NASA associate administrator Jim Frye admitted Friday during a press conference in which he thanked SpaceX “for its support and flexibility.”

SpaceX

Billionaire Elon Musk’s company is responsible for the regular crew rotation mission to the International Space Station, which, like all other missions, should have a duration of about six months.

However, Crew-9’s liftoff was postponed from mid-August to late September to give NASA teams more time to decide on Boeing’s spacecraft.

The launch had to be postponed again for a few days due to Hurricane Helen, which hit Florida this week.

SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft is scheduled to dock with the International Space Station on Sunday at around 6:30pm in Brasilia.

In total, Nick Hague and Alexander Gorbunov will spend about five months on the ISS, and Butch Wilmore and Sonny Williams about eight months.

During this period, about 200 scientific experiments will be conducted according to the specified schedule.

During a press conference in early September, Wilmore and Williams said they were adjusting well to their extended stay.

“The transition wasn’t that difficult,” Williams said. “We’re both Marines, and we’ve had to deploy before. It doesn’t surprise us that missions change.”