NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 mission successfully launched from Space Launch Complex-40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on Saturday. Crew 9, the first human spaceflight mission to launch from pad 40, is now en route to the International Space Station.
How long will it take to reach the ISS? “It is expected to take 28.5 hours for the spacecraft to autonomously dock to the space station at 5:30 p.m. EDT Sunday, September 29, while traveling 17,000 mph orbiting the Earth,” NASA said in a statement on Saturday.
Nick, Aleksandr and a ‘furry friend’? The Crew-9 mission launched with NASA astronaut and commander Nick Hague, Roscosmos cosmonaut and mission specialist Aleksandr Gorbunov and a “furry friend” Aurora on board.
That “furry friend” is a “Zero-G [Gravity] indicator”. NASA describes a Zero gravity indicators as “small items carried aboard spacecraft that provide a visual indicator when a spacecraft has reached the weightlessness of microgravity”.
“I just so happen to have a furry friend with me”, Nick said in space-to-ground communication as he reached the microgravity. “We got a Falcon on board…say hello to Aurora,” he added.
Dragon to offer Sunita Williams ride back home: Nick and Aleksandr launched aboard a Falcon 9 rocket and SpaceX Dragon ‘Endurance’ spacecraft. NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore, who reached the ISS on Boeing’s Starliner, will return with Nick and Aleksandr on the SpaceX craft in February 2025.