Boeing’s astronaut rescue ship is ready for takeoff. It will be the debut of SpaceX’s new tower

SpaceX’s Crew-9 mission is not like the previous eight. This time, the Crew Dragon spacecraft will fly to the International Space Station with two empty seats and two spare suits to bring back Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, the astronauts who have had to stay in space due to the problems with Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft.

When it takes off. The launch of Crew-9 is scheduled for Saturday, September 28 from Cape Canaveral’s SLC-40 launch pad. This is the first time that the launch facility, owned by the United States Space Force, has been used to launch astronauts.

SpaceX has had to install a new tower with an access bridge to be able to launch its manned spacecraft from SLC-40. It has also installed a very long slide as an emergency escape system for astronauts, one of NASA’s requirements in the platform’s certification process.

Who’s on board. The Crew-9 mission was originally scheduled for August 18 with four people on board. The Dragon ship was to be commanded by 36-year-old American astronaut Zena Cardman, who would have flown into space for the first time. However, NASA ended up delaying the launch in order to rescue the Boeing astronauts.

Although she was the original commander, Cardman was removed from the mission to hand over to a more experienced person: Nick Hague, who had flown on two Soyuz spacecraft. There was only room for one more person, and it had to be Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov because of NASA’s Crew Dragon-Soyuz seat-swapping program with its counterpart Roscosmos.

What happened to the Starliner? Boeing’s Starliner failed to complete its final certification test. It was due to spend a week docked at the International Space Station before returning to Earth with astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams. It spent three months, and returned empty.

NASA deemed the Starliner not safe enough to return its astronauts after five thrusters failed during its approach to the space station. Boeing conducted all kinds of tests, but could not offer NASA a convincing explanation for the failure and, above all, that the return would be safe. Finally, the ship returned without any major problems, but leaving Butch and Suni in space awaiting Crew-9.

What is the plan. Butch and Suni became part of the permanent crew of the International Space Station. First of Expedition 71, and now of Expedition 72. Suni Williams has become a de facto in ISS commander after the departure of Olog Kononenko on a Soyuz.

Crew-9 will follow the original plan and return in February 2025, but with Butch and Suni on board. That’s why there are two empty seats and extra suits, as Boeing’s suits are not compatible with the Crew Dragon spacecraft. The spacecraft that will take off to the International Space Station is the Dragon ‘Freedom’, which has already flown three times. It will take off on a Falcon 9 rocket that has flown twice.

Image | SpaceX, NASA

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