Meet the NASA-SpaceX Crew 9 astronauts who will fly back with Sunita Williams: One loves science fiction, the other wanted to be a biologist

An American and a Russian astronaut will lead the NASA-SpaceX Crew 9 mission, tasked with bringing Starliner astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore back from the International Space Station. NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov will fly aboard SpaceX’s Dragon ‘Endurance’ spacecraft atop the Falcon 9 rocket as part of this commercial crew mission.

After multiple delays, SpaceX Crew 9 mission It is now scheduled to launch at 1:17 pm ET or (10:47 pm Indian Standard Time) on Saturday, September 28, weather permitting.

The NASA-SpaceX crewed mission was initially scheduled to take off on August 18 with four crew members. it was later postponed due to technical problems detected on Boeing’s Starliner which took Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore into space on June 5.

At the end of August, NASA announced three big decisions to address the Starliner issue and the launch of Crew 9. These were: Reduce Crew 9 mission from four to two astronautsbring back a Starliner spacecraft “uncrewed” or empty and help Sunita and Butch fly home on the SpaceX Dragon ship in February 2025. Hague, Gorbunov, Wilmore and Williams will return to Earth in February of next year.

When will the SpaceX Crew 9 mission launch? While Starliner is now back on Earth, NASA said the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft is counting down to a “planned liftoff no earlier than 1:17 p.m. ET on Saturday, September 28, weather permitting.” . It will be a five-month mission. The duo will arrive at the space station at 5:30 p.m. ET on Sunday (it will be 3 a.m. on Monday).

Astronauts Nick Hague and Aleksandr Gorbuno will direct the long-awaited launch. While Hague was named mission commander, Gorbunov assumed the role of mission specialist. Here is an in-depth analysis of the profile and roles of Nick Hague and Aleksandr Gorbunov:

Nick Hague: space experience, role in the Crew 9 mission

Nick Hague is a NASA astronaut and colonel in the US Space Force. He was selected by NASA as an astronaut in 2013. “It took me about 38 years before I was selected,” Hague said recently in a podcast with the POT.

Background: Originally from Kansas, Hague holds a bachelor’s degree in astronautical engineering from the United States Air Force Academy and a master’s of science degree in aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2000. He enjoys exercising, flying, and skiing. in the snow. and diving.

Speaking of his childhood dream, Hague: “I I love science fiction and this idea of ​​going out and exploring. It was this childhood dream.” He said “I grew up on Star Wars and Star Trek” and watched Dr. Who.

Experience: NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 mission will be Hague’s second space flight. His first mission to the International Space Station was in 2018, when he and crewmate Alexey Ovchinin “experienced a catastrophic booster malfunction that caused the launch of their Soyuz MS-10 to be aborted,” NASA said. He was the first astronaut of his class assigned to a mission that launched on October 11, 2018.

In 2019, The Hague relaunched on Soyuz MS-12 and served as a flight engineer on the International Space Station for 203 days during Expeditions 59 and 60. According to NASA, Hague performed three spacewalks during his mission, totaling 19 hours and 56 minutes with a total of 203 days in the space. He returned to Earth on October 4, 2019, along with the UAE’s first astronaut, Hazza Al Mansouri, who lifted off on September 25, 2019 aboard Soyuz MS-15.

Role: Hague will serve as commander of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 mission. Before NASA’s decision to reduce the SpaceX crew, Hague was the pilot assigned for this mission.. But now he will take on the role of commander.

In a podcast with NASA, Hague said, “…we have to play the role of pilot and commander as one person,” as the SpaceX mission will launch with a “pilotless” crew of two.

Aleksandr Gorbunov: space experience, role in the Crew 9 mission

Aleksandr Gorbunov is a Russian cosmonaut. He will embark on his first trip to the space station as a mission specialist for Crew-9. Gorbunov will be a flight engineer during Expedition 71/72 aboard the space station.

Background: Gorbunov was born in Zheleznogorsk, Kursk region, Russia. He studied engineering with degrees in spacecraft and higher stages at the Moscow Aviation Institute. NASA reported that Gorbunov graduated from the military department with a specialty in operation and repair of aircraft, helicopters and aircraft engines.

In the podcast, Aleksandr Gorbunov said that he entered the Moscow Aviation Institute, where he studied spacecraft and upper stages. “And once I graduated, I qualified as an engineer and started my career in CSR [Rocket Space Corp] Energia, a Russian manufacturer of spacecraft for Soyuz and Progress and also for the International Space Station… I worked there until 2018, when I was selected and joined the cosmonaut corps.”

It also supported the launch of cargo spacecraft from the Baikonur cosmodrome.

Gorbunov said he wanted to be a biologist and “the dream of becoming a cosmonaut came later, when I was in high school.”

Role: During the upcoming Crew 9 mission, mission specialist Gorbunov said he plans to take many photographs from the windows of the International Space Station and has signed up for many scientific experiments. “I’ll also be working on ISS maintenance. And I think six months will be pretty busy,” he said before Crew 9’s launch.