Meet the SpaceX Crew-9 astronauts launching to the International Space Station Sept. 26

NASA astronaut Nick Hague (left) and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, who comprise SpaceX Crew-9. (Image credit: NASA)

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Nick Hague (NASA)
Aleksandr Gorbunov (Roscosmos)

Two astronauts are scheduled to launch to the International Space Station (ISS) next week, with two empty seats aboard their spacecraft.

Crew-9, SpaceX's ninth operational commercial crew mission for NASA, will lift off Thursday, Sept. 26, at 2:05 p.m. EDT (1805 GMT). NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov will launch aboard SpaceX's Crew Dragon Freedom, which previously flew the Crew-4 mission, as well as the private Axiom-2 and Axiom-3 missions.

It's an atypical launch for a crewed SpaceX mission to the ISS, which customarily ferries four astronauts at a time. Originally, Crew-9 was slated to fly the usual four, but NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Stephanie Wilson were removed from the flight when NASA made the decision to return Boeing's Starliner spacecraft without its crew, leaving astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams aboard the ISS in need of a ride home.

Now, Wilmore and Williams will be officially absorbed into ISS Expedition 71, and return to Earth aboard Freedom at the end of the Crew-9 rotation in February 2025. And, once Hague and Gorbunov arrive, Wilmore and Williams will finally have a dedicated spacecraft for their return to Earth.

Nick Hague (NASA)

a man smiles in a white spacesuit — NASA astronaut Nick Hague. (Image credit: SpaceX)

Aleksandr Gorbunov (Roscosmos)

a man in a white spacesuit with a flag on his arm consisting of horizontal stripes of white, blue and red — SpaceX Crew-9 mission specialist Aleksandr Gorbunov of Roscosmos. (Image credit: SpaceX)

Roscosmos

Aleksandr Gorbunov

This will be Aleksandr Gorbunov's first mission to space. Prior to his cosmonaut selection by the Russian space agency Roscosmos in 2018, Gorbunov supported Progress cargo launches from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, in Kazakhstan, as an engineer for Rocket Space Corp. Energia.

According to NASA, Gorbunov engineering and spacecraft at the Moscow Aviation Institute, and graduated with a specialty in operating and repairing aircraft, helicopters, and aircraft engines from the Intitute's military department. For his upcoming mission to the space station, Gorbunov will serve as Crew-9's flight engineer.

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Another first for the Crew-9 mission will be its launchpad. Space Launch Complex-40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station has been undergoing refurbishment to support crewed launches the past several months, and will finally get the chance to do so. SpaceX's usual pad for crewed missions, Launch Complex-39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, is currently being equipped to support the upcoming launch of the Europa Clipper probe on a Falcon Heavy rocket.

Hague's and Gorbunov's milestone liftoff from SLC-40 will also mark the second crewed launch ever from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, following on the heels of the Starliner launch on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V from SLC-41, in June.

Josh Dinner is the Staff Writer for Spaceflight at Space.com. He is a writer and photographer with a passion for science and space exploration, and has been working the space beat since 2016. Josh has covered the evolution of NASA's commercial spaceflight partnerships and crewed missions from the Space Coast, as well as NASA science missions and more. He also enjoys building 1:144-scale model rockets and human-flown spacecraft. Find some of Josh's launch photography on Instagram and his website, and follow him on X, where he mostly posts in haiku.