NASA’s SpaceX Crew -9 on Tuesday completed the Rotation Mission of the agency’s ninth commercial crew for the International Space Station, which fell down safely in a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft from the coast of Florida in the Gulf of the US.
NASA astronauts Nick Hague, Sun. Williams, and Buch Wilmor, and Roscosmos Cosmonot Alexandra Gorbunov, returned to EDT at 5:57 pm. The teams riding in SpaceX recovery ships retrieved the spacecraft and its crew. After returning to the shore, the crew will fly to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston and reunite with their families.
NASA’s acting administrator Janet Petro said, “We are riding the international space station after important science, technology performances and maintenance in Sunny, Buch, Nick, and Alexandra Home after their months of long missions. “Under the direction of President Trump, NASA and SpaceX worked hard to pull the program a month ago.
Hague and Gourbunov picked up the space launch complex 40 from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canveral Space Force Station in Florida at 1:17 pm on Spacex Falcon 9 rocket at 28,224. The next day, he docked the port in front of the station’s harmony module. Williams and Wilmore rode in the Space Launch Complex 41 to 5 June 2024 as Starlineer Spacecraft of Boeing and United Launch Alliance Atlas V Rocket on the Space Launch Complex 41 to 5 June 2024. The pair reached the space station on 6 June. In August, NASA announced a return of Starlineer to integrate Earth and Wilmor and Williams as part of the Space Station’s campaign 71/72 for return to Crew -9. The crew of four at 1:05 pm on Tuesday to start the trip home.
Williams and Wilmore traveled 121,347,491 miles during their mission, spent 286 days in space, and completed 4,576 classes around the Earth. Hague and Gorbunov traveled 72,553,920 miles during their mission, spent 171 days in space, and completed 2,736 classes around the Earth. Crew -9 was the first spaceflight for Mission Gorbunov. The Hague has entered space for 374 days in space on his two missions, Williams logged in instead of 608 days on their three flights, and Wilmore has entered the space of 464 days in space on its three flights.
During his mission, Crew -9 contributed to hosting science and maintenance activities and technology performances. Williams operated the two spacewalks, joined the Hague by Wilmore for one and the other, while removing a radio frequency group antenna assembly from the trus of the station, collecting samples from the outer surface of the station for analysis, installed patch to cover the damaged areas of light filters on the X-ray telescope, and much more. Williams now holds records for the total spacewalking time by a female astronaut, with 62 hours and 6 minutes outside the station, and the all-time spacewalk ranks fourth in the period list.
The US crew members organized more than 150 unique scientific experiments and technology performances between them with over 900 hours of research. This research included the ability of stem cell technology to address the growth and quality of the plant, as well as to address blood diseases, autoimmune disorders and cancer. He tested light systems to help astronauts maintain circadian rhythm, loaded the first wooden satellite for deployment, and took samples from the exterior of the space station and studied whether microorganisms could live in space.
Crew -9 Mission Dragon was the fourth flight of the spacecraft called Freedom. It also supported NASA’s SpaceX Crew -4, Axiom Mission 2, and Axiom Mission 3. The spacecraft will return to Florida for inspection and processing in the refurbishing facility of SpaceX at the Cape Canveral Space Force Station, where the teams will inspect the dragon, analyze the data on its performance, and start processing for its next flight.
Crew -9 flight NASA’s commercial crew is part of the program, and its return to Earth is on NASA’s SpaceX Crew -10 launch on heels, which was docked at the station on 16 March, starting another long -term science campaign.
The program of NASA’s commercial crew is aimed at secure, reliable and cost -effective transport from space station and low Earth’s orbit. The program provides additional research time and an increase in search opportunities to test the micropathy of humanity for exploration, including helping NASA and Mars to help NASA preparation for human exploration.
Learn more about NASA’s commercial crew program:
https://www.nasa.gov/combercialcrew
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Amber Jacobson / Joshua Finch
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1100
amber.c.jacobson@nasa.gov / joshua.finch@nasa.gov
Kena Pale / Sandra Jones
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
kenna.m.pell@nasa.gov / sandra.p.jones@nasa.gov
Steve Siceloff / Stephanie Plusinsky
Kennedy Space Center, Florida
321-867-2468
Steven.p.siceloff@nasa.gov / Stephanie.n.plucinsky@nasa.gov
