NASA, SpaceX delay Crew-9 mission tasked to bring back Sunita Williams – Here’s why

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 mission, which has been tasked to bring back Starliner astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore from space station, was delayed on Tuesday. The mission was scheduled to launch on September 26. The Crew-9 launch was, however, shifted to September 28 "over weather concerns" related to Tropical Storm Helene.

NASA said in an update on September 24, “NASA and SpaceX teams have adjusted the next launch opportunity for NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 mission to no earlier than 1:17 pm EDT [or 10:47 pm], Saturday, September 28, from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.”

While the "instantaneous launch" is scheduled at 1:17 pm ET on September 28, there's a backup opportunity available on Sunday, September 29 at 12:54 pm ET if needed, SpaceX said.

When and where to watch the launch? A live webcast of this mission will begin about one hour prior to liftoff, which one can watch on X SpaceX's X account. One can also watch the webcast on the new X TV app.

Why was Crew-9 launch delayed?

The decision was taken "due to expected tropical storm conditions in the area". NASA said, “Although Tropical Storm Helene is moving through the Gulf of Mexico and expected to impact the Florida panhandle, the storm system is large enough that high winds and heavy rain are expected in the Cape Canaveral and Merritt Island regions on Florida’s east coast.”

The US space agency said the change allows teams to complete a rehearsal of launch day activities with the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket on Tuesday night.

Meanwhile, SpaceX posted videos and images of the full rehearsal of launch day activities ahead of liftoff on Saturday.

"Following rehearsal activities, the integrated system will move back to the hangar ahead of any potential storm activity," NASA said.

Crew 9 mission to bring back Sunita Williams

The Crew 9 mission will be the ninth crew rotation mission with SpaceX under NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov will launch aboard the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket to the International Space Station.

The Crew 9 mission was re-planned to bring Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore back home on the Dragon spacecraft. Initially, the Crew 9 mission was supposed to launch with four crew members.

Meanwhile, Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore launched aboard Boeing's Starliner spacecraft on June 5. They reached the International Space Station on June 6. During its journey, Starliner witnessed technical issues that delayed its return from space.

The Boeing spacecraft and its crew members were initially scheduled to return from the ISS in mid-June. However, NASA decided to bring an "empty" Starliner back to Earth, keeping in view the safety of the two astronauts. It was then decided to help the crew – Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore – return to Earth on the SpaceX spacecraft.

For this, the Crew 9 mission was downsized from four crew members to just two. The mission will now launch with NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, leaving two seats empty for Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore.

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 Crew-9 mission was originally stated to be launched no earlier than August 18, but was postponed by a month to spend more time analyzing issues with Boeing's Starliner spacecraft. It has been delayed again due to weather concerns.