NASA and SpaceX are aiming for a Saturday launch of the Crew-9 mission, where astronauts will travel to orbit in a Dragon spacecraft that will later return the Starliner crew to Earth.

Initially, officials plotted a launch window that would coincide with Hurricane Helene’s arrival, which made landfall in Florida on Thursday in a different region from the site of rocket launches. This storm marked the first recorded Category 4 hurricane to impact the Big Bend coast and is generating strong winds and heavy rainfall in the Cape Canaveral area, home to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.

The Crew-9 astronauts, Nick Hague and Aleksandr Gorbunov, arrived at the space center last Saturday to commence their launch preparations, which will occur at the adjacent Space Force Station.

Here’s how you can watch the Crew-9 launch and details about the mission.

When is the Crew-9 mission set to launch?

The Dragon spacecraft is scheduled to launch onboard a Falcon 9 rocket no earlier than 1:17 p.m. EDT on Saturday from Space Launch Complex-40, as confirmed by NASA officials during a news briefing on Friday.

Once it reaches orbit, the spacecraft will detach from the rocket and head towards the International Space Station (ISS), where the crew will stay for approximately five months. The launch, initially scheduled for August 18, faced delays of over a month as NASA and Boeing collaborated on resolving the issues related to the Starliner spacecraft occupying the Dragon’s docking station.

With the Boeing Starliner capsule having safely returned to Earth, though without crew members, the Dragon is now set for launch. However, Hurricane Helene caused additional disruptions, leading NASA and SpaceX to postpone the launch another three times this week.

How to view the Crew-9 mission launch

Nasa will broadcast the launch along with the docking process and other pre-launch activities.

On launch day, the coverage will commence at 9:10 a.m. EDT on NASA+ and the agency’s official website.

Once the rocket ascends, coverage will transition to audio only, resuming at 3:30 p.m. on Sunday when the Dragon prepares to dock and open its hatch to welcome the astronauts aboard the ISS.

FLORIDA TODAY, part of the YSL News Network, will also offer live launch coverage at floridatoday.com/space.

What is the Crew-9 mission?

This SpaceX mission is the ninth crew rotation to the ISS under NASA’s commercial crew program, which involves contracting private companies for missions instead of carrying them out directly.

Once onboard the ISS, Hague and Gorbunov will join Expedition 72 and stay for six months where they will carry out experiments, research projects, and participate in spacewalks to maintain the station, particularly in preparation for future human exploration beyond Earth.

Additionally, the Crew-9 astronauts will not only replace Crew-8, who have been aboard the station since March, but will also arrive with the spacecraft designated to return Starliner astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore to earth.

These NASA astronauts traveled to the ISS in June on the Boeing Starliner for what was intended to be a 10-day mission as part of the spacecraft’s first crewed test flight.

Upon their arrival on June 6, engineers found that the Starliner was facing several issues, including multiple helium leaks and propulsion problems.

As a result of recent circumstances, NASA has decided to bring the spacecraft back to Earth without its crew.

The astronauts on the Starliner will remain at the International Space Station until February, when they are set to return alongside the Crew-9 team on the Dragon spacecraft.

Introducing the Crew-9 astronauts

Due to the situation, NASA and SpaceX will not be sending all four Crew-9 astronauts as planned.

Below are the two astronauts preparing for their journey into space:

• NASA astronaut Nick Hague from Belleville, Kansas, will be the crew commander. This will mark his third launch and second trip to the space station. Selected as a NASA astronaut in 2013, Hague is also an active-duty colonel in the U.S. Space Force. He has dedicated 203 days to space travel and has participated in three spacewalks.
• Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov will be making his inaugural journey to the space station as a mission specialist. Gorbunov earned his engineering degree from the Moscow Aviation Institute, specializing in aircraft operation and repair, before becoming a cosmonaut in 2018.

NASA also mentioned that astronauts Zena Cardman and Stephanie Wilson, who were initially slated to join the mission, are now available for future assignments.