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Crew 9 Astronauts Arrive At Kennedy Space Center

Charles Boyer
Crew 9 Astronauts Aleksandr Vladimirovich Gorbunov and Nick Hague greeted reporters and NASA personnel yesterday at the old Shuttle Landing Facility at KSC.
Crew 9 Astronauts Aleksandr Vladimirovich Gorbunov and Nick Hague greeted reporters and NASA personnel yesterday at the old Shuttle Landing Facility at KSC.
Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of Titusville

The NASA/SpaceX Crew 9 astronauts have arrived at Kennedy Space Center.

Crew 9 Final Preparations Set To Begin.

After landing on a chartered Gulfstream G-550 flight from Houston, the crew will begin final preparations for their upcoming flight aboard a Falcon 9 and Crew Dragon to the International Space Station, slated to launch no earlier than Thursday, September 26th, at 02:05 PM EDT.

They were greeted by Kelvin Manning, deputy director, NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, and Dana Hutcherson, deputy program manager, NASA’s Commercial Crew Program as well as a large contingent of reporters.

After answering questions from the press, Hague and Gorbunov left to enter quarantine at the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at KSC. They will also complete a dry dress rehearsal of the mission, will align their resting and waking periods to match mission requirements and will also practive other launch and free-flight procedures that will be needed during the early part of their mission.

Aleksandr Vladimirovich Gorbunov and NASA Astronaut Nick Hague greeted reporters and @NASA personnel yesterday at the old Shuttle Landing Facility at KSC. They launch NET Thursday 2:06 PM EDT. Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of Titusville

Dana Hutcherson gave more information on pre-launch preparations, “Our teams will also gather on Monday for the flight readiness review ahead of the launch. This launch will mark the first time a human spaceflight mission will lift off from Space Launch Complex 40, and our NASA and SpaceX teams have been working hand in hand with our Space Force mission partners. This is a huge increase in capability for us. With two pads now rated for human spaceflight, we now have operational flexibility with SpaceX to deconflict launches at both 39 A and SLC 40.”

An uncrewed Falcon 9 launching from Space Launch Complex 40. The site has seen over 250 launches through the years, but never a crewed flight. That will change as soon as this week.
Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of Titusville

Integration Of Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams Into Crew 9

Due to issues with the Boeing Crewed Flight test and the subsequent shift of CFT astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams to Expedition 72 and Crew 9, the two astronauts who flew to ISS aboard Starliner will be returning to Earth aboard SpaceX’s Crew Dragon — a spacecraft neither of the two have previous flight experience with.

This reporter asked Crew 9 Commander Nick Hague when the integration of the two members would start:

Nick Hague comments on integrating the two Crew 9 astronauts already on Crew 9
Video via NASA liverstream.
Members of the press waiting for Crew-9s arrival.
Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of Titusville
The crew and support personnel arriving at KSC’s SLF on September 22, 2024 aboard a Gulfstream G-550 charter flight.
Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of Titusville

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