Crew-9 spacecraft will bring two NASA astronauts stranded on the ISS back to Earth

On September 28, at the Cape Canaveral launch site in Florida (USA), SpaceX Corporation successfully launched a spacecraft named Crew-9.

The Crew-9 spacecraft took off at 1:17 p.m. EST on September 28. Two days earlier, NASA had been forced to postpone the launch due to Hurricane Helene in the area.

Ms. Sunita Williams, one of two astronauts stuck on the ISS. (Source: Businesstoday)

Unlike other regular flights carrying astronauts to and from the International Space Station (ISS) under NASA's Commercial Crew Program, the Crew-9 launch this time carried only two crew members instead of four: NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos astronaut Aleksandr Gorbunov.

As planned, when returning to Earth in February 2025, Crew-9 will carry two veteran astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, who were forced to stay on the ISS longer than expected due to the Boeing Starliner accident.

The plan was chosen by NASA in late August after the US space agency deemed the Starliner spacecraft too risky to return the crew.

The return of two NASA astronauts to Earth has been delayed multiple times since the two astronauts set foot on the ISS on Starliner on June 6 due to repeated problems with the spacecraft along the way, including helium leaks and a sudden failure of the thrusters.

On September 7, Boeing's Starliner spacecraft returned safely to Earth but without astronauts.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/tau-vu-tru-crew-9-se-don-hai-phi-hanh-gia-cua-nasa-bi-mac-ket-tren-iss-tro-ve-trai-dat-288174.html