Meet Astronauts of NASA-SpaceX Crew-9 Mission Set to Rescue Sunita Williams

Huston: After several delays and obstructions, SpaceX's Crew-9 mission is set to launch at 1:17 PM ET or 10:47 PM Indian Standard Time on Saturday, September 28, if the weather permits the takeoff.

Initially planned for August 18, the NASA-SpaceX mission, which originally included four crew members, was postponed due to some technical issues detected in Boeing's Starliner, which had carried astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore to space on June 5.  

In late August, NASA made three key decisions to address the Starliner issue and adjust the Crew-9 mission to bring back the astronauts stuck at the International Space Station in which the Crew-9 team will be reduced from four to two astronauts,

The Crew 9 will take off on Saturday with Nick Hague, and Aleksandr Gorbunov and the two astronauts will have a long stay at ISS and are expected to bring Wilmore, and Williams back along with them to Earth in February next year.

Nick Hague: Background and Role in Crew-9

Nick Hague is a NASA astronaut and a U.S. Space Force Colonel, selected by NASA in 2013. Reflecting on his journey, Hague shared in a NASA podcast, “It took me about 38 years before I was selected.”

A Kansas native, Hague holds a B.S. in Astronautical Engineering from the U.S. Air Force Academy and an M.S. in Aeronautics and Astronautics from MIT. His interests include exercise, flying, skiing, and scuba diving. A lifelong sci-fi fan, Hague credits ‘Star Wars,’ ‘Star Trek,’ and ‘Doctor Who’ for inspiring his childhood dream of space exploration.

The Crew-9 mission will be Hague’s second spaceflight. His first, in 2018, was interrupted by a catastrophic rocket booster malfunction during the Soyuz MS-10 mission, which resulted in an emergency abort. He re-launched in 2019 on Soyuz MS-12 and spent 203 days aboard the ISS during Expeditions 59 and 60, where he completed three spacewalks totaling nearly 20 hours.

For Crew-9, Hague, originally slated as pilot, will now serve as commander following the crew downsizing. In the NASA podcast, he explained, “We have to combine the roles of pilot and commander into a single person.”

Aleksandr Gorbunov: Background and Role in Crew-9

Aleksandr Gorbunov, a Russian cosmonaut, will make his first trip to space as Crew-9’s mission specialist. He will also serve as a flight engineer aboard the ISS during Expeditions 71 and 72.

Born in Zheleznogorsk, Russia, Gorbunov studied spacecraft and upper-stage engineering at the Moscow Aviation Institute and started his career at RSC Energia, a key manufacturer of Russian spacecraft. He worked there until his selection as a cosmonaut in 2018 and also supported cargo launches from Baikonur Cosmodrome.

Ahead of the Crew-9 mission, Gorbunov shared plans to take photographs from the ISS and participate in a range of scientific experiments. He expects the six-month mission to be "pretty busy" with station maintenance and various tasks.