NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov successfully docked with the International Space Station (ISS) aboard the SpaceX Dragon capsule on Sunday, paving the way for the return of NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore, who have been stationed on the ISS since June 2024.
Upon their arrival, Hague and Gorbunov were warmly welcomed by the ISS Expedition 72 crew, including Williams and Wilmore. NASA launched the SpaceX Dragon mission on Saturday to bring back the two astronauts next year after an unexpectedly extended stay on the space station.
Hague and Gorbunov opened the hatch between the space station and the pressurised mating adapter at 7:04 p.m. EDT, making their way into the ISS. They were greeted by NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt, Jeanette Epps, Don Petitt, Butch Wilmore, and Sunita Williams, along with Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexander Grebenkin, Alexey Ovchinin, and Ivan Vagner.
In a statement shared on X, NASA’s Johnson Space Center said: "The official welcome! The Expedition 72 crew welcomed Crew 9, NASA astronauts Nick Hague, the Crew 9 commander and cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, the Crew 9 mission specialist, after their flight aboard the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft."
The ISS will briefly house 11 crew members until early October, when Crew-8 astronauts Dominick, Barratt, Epps, and Grebenkin are set to return to Earth.
SpaceX’s Crew Dragon “Freedom” launched on Saturday with a reduced two-man team, carrying supplies and seats for Wilmore and Williams, who are set to return in February 2025. The launch, originally scheduled for Thursday, was delayed due to severe weather caused by Hurricane Helene. Eventually, the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted off at 1:17 p.m. EDT from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
Hague monitored the automated ascent alongside Gorbunov, a first-time space flyer. Though Crew Dragon typically carries four astronauts, two Crew-9 astronauts—Stephanie Wilson and Zena Cardman—were removed from this mission in August to make room for Wilmore and Williams’ return journey in February.
Williams and Wilmore have been aboard the ISS since June, having arrived on June 6 after launching aboard Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft on June 5. Initially scheduled for a short test mission, their stay was extended after NASA determined that bringing them back aboard Starliner was “too risky.” Starliner returned to Earth without the crew on September 6.
NASA explained: "Wilmore and Williams will continue their work formally as part of the Expedition 71/72 crew through February 2025. They will fly home aboard a Dragon spacecraft with two other crew members assigned to the agency's SpaceX Crew-9 mission."
Their short test flight, initially intended to last only a week, has now stretched to nearly eight months. The pair will return to Earth in early 2025 aboard the SpaceX Dragon capsule, concluding a mission that has been filled with unexpected challenges and delays.