WASHINGTON, Aug. 30,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut
Aleksandr Gorbunov will
launch no earlier than Tuesday, Sept.
24, on the agency's SpaceX Crew-9 mission to the
International Space Station. NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Stephanie Wilson, previously announced as
crewmates, are eligible for reassignment on a future
mission.
Hague and Gorbunov will fly to the space station as commander
and mission specialist, respectively, as part of a two-crew member
flight aboard a SpaceX Dragon.
The updated crew complement follows NASA's decision to
return the agency's Boeing Crew Flight Test uncrewed and launch
Crew-9 with two unoccupied seats. NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, who
launched aboard the Starliner spacecraft in June, will fly home
with Hague and Gorbunov in February
2025.
The decision to fly Hague was made by NASA chief astronaut
Joe Acaba at the agency's Johnson
Space Center in Houston. Acaba had
to balance flying a NASA crew member with previous spaceflight
experience to command the flight, while ensuring NASA maintains an
integrated crew with a Roscosmos cosmonaut who can operate their
critical systems for continued, safe station operations.
"While we've changed crew before for a variety of reasons,
downsizing crew for this flight was another tough decision to
adjust to given that the crew has trained as a crew of four," said
Acaba. "I have the utmost confidence in all our crew, who have been
excellent throughout training for the mission. Zena and Stephanie
will continue to assist their crewmates ahead of launch, and they
exemplify what it means to be a professional astronaut."
The agency will share reassignment details for Cardman and
Wilson when available.
"I am deeply proud of our entire crew,"
said Cardman, "and I am confident Nick and Alex
will step into their roles with excellence. All four of
us remain dedicated to the success of this mission,
and Stephanie and I look forward to flying when the time is
right."
Wilson added, "I know Nick and Alex will do a great job with
their work aboard the International Space Station as part of
Expedition 72."
With 203 days logged in space, this will be Hague's third launch
and second mission to the orbiting laboratory. During his first
launch in October 2018, Hague and
his crewmate, Roscosmos' Alexey Ovchinin, experienced a rocket
booster failure, resulting in an in-flight, post-launch abort,
ballistic re-entry, and safe landing in their Soyuz MS-10
spacecraft. Five months later, Hague launched aboard Soyuz MS-12
and served as a flight engineer aboard the space station during
Expeditions 59 and 60. Hague conducted three spacewalks to upgrade
space station power systems and install a docking adapter for
commercial spacecraft. An active-duty colonel in the U.S. Space
Force, Hague completed a developmental rotation at the Defense
Department, and served as the Space Force's director of test and
evaluation from 2020 to 2022. In August
2022, Hague resumed duties at NASA, working on the Boeing
Starliner Program until this flight assignment.
Follow @astrohague on X and Instagram.
This will be Gorbunov's first trip to space and the station.
Born in Zheleznogorsk, Kursk region, Russia, he studied engineering with
qualifications in spacecraft and upper stages from the Moscow
Aviation Institute. Gorbunov graduated from the military department
with a specialty in operating and repairing aircraft, helicopters,
and aircraft engines. Before his selection as a cosmonaut in 2018,
he worked as an engineer for Rocket Space Corp. Energia and
supported cargo spacecraft launches from the Baikonur
Cosmodrome.
Hague and Gorbonov will become members of the Expedition 72 crew
aboard the station. They will join Wilmore, Williams, fellow NASA
astronaut Don Pettit, and Roscosmos
cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan
Vagner conducting scientific research and maintenance
activities into the station's 24th year of continuous human
presence.
Learn more about International Space Station research and
operations at:
https://www.nasa.gov/station
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SOURCE NASA