SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft with a Russian cosmonaut successfully docked to the ISS

The spacecraft Crew Dragon by SpaceX as part of the Crew-9 mission has delivered two crew members to the International Space Station (ISS). The docking with the orbital station took place at 00:30 Moscow time, and the process was broadcast live on the websites of NASA and SpaceX, allowing everyone to watch the event in real time.

Crew-9Crew NASA and SpaceX.

Mission Crew-9: U.S.-Russian cooperation

The mission Crew-9 launched on September 28, when a launch vehicle Falcon 9 with a ship Crew Dragon launched into space from the site SLC-40 at Cape Canaveral, Florida. On board were Russian cosmonaut of the state corporation «Roscosmos» Alexander Gorbunov and NASA astronaut Nick Hague. The launch took place at 20:17 Moscow time.

Alexander Gorbunov and NASA astronaut Nick Hague.

In an interesting feature of this launch, the Falcon 9 rocket took off from this launch pad for the first time, making it the first time that the rocket’s first stage landed on land rather than on a floating platform in the Gulf of Mexico, as it normally does. This success allows SpaceX to reduce launch costs and continue to increase the pace of manned missions.

Unusual Crew of the Crew-9 Mission

An unusual feature of the Crew-9 mission was that a crew of only two people went into orbit, which is only half of the usual composition. This decision was due to the need to return astronauts Butch Wilmore (Butch Wilmore) and Sunita Williams (Sunita Williams), who were on the station longer than planned.

Butch Wilmore (Butch Wilmore) and Sunita Williams (Sunita Williams) were returned to Earth.

The mission of Wilmore and Williams, sent to the ISS on the Boeing Starliner spacecraft, was originally expected to last only 10 days. However, due to technical problems with the Starliner ship’s engines, NASA decided to return the craft to Earth without a crew to minimize safety risks to the astronauts. Because of this, Wilmore and Williams remained on the station for several months and will now have to return to Earth aboard the Crew Dragon of the Crew-9 mission in February of next year.

Wilmore and Williams will now have to return to Earth aboard the Crew Dragon of the Crew-9 mission.

Falcon 9 rocket problems and suspended launches

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After the successful launch of the Crew-9 mission, SpaceX has temporarily suspended further launches of the Falcon 9 launch vehicle. The reason was a malfunction detected during Saturday’s launch – experts detected abnormal behavior of the rocket’s second stage, which, according to the plan, was supposed to fall into the ocean, but did so outside the target zone.

After the successful launch of the Crew-9 mission, SpaceX temporarily suspended further launches of the Falcon 9.

Although the second stage was scheduled to fall out of orbit, it fell outside of the acceptable limits, necessitating additional analysis. SpaceX engineers are already working to determine the cause of the malfunction, and only after the problem is fixed will the company resume Falcon 9 launches.

The Future of SpaceX Missions and International Cooperation

SpaceX continues to be a leader in the space industry, providing not only commercial but also scientific missions in collaboration with international partners. The joint flight of a cosmonaut Roscosmos and a NASA astronaut demonstrates the importance of international cooperation in space exploration and development.

SpaceX’s mission will be the first of its kind in the world.

The use of new technologies, such as reusable launch vehicles and next-generation manned spacecraft, allows SpaceX to significantly reduce mission costs, making space more affordable. The decision to return astronauts using Crew Dragon further demonstrates the reliability of this crew transportation system, and the work to identify and fix problems with the Falcon 9 second stage reaffirms SpaceX’s commitment to safety and continuous improvement.

The decision to return astronauts using Crew Dragon further demonstrates SpaceX’s commitment to safety and continuous improvement.

When all of the identified issues are corrected, SpaceX is scheduled to resume Falcon 9 launches, which will allow the company to continue to pursue its planned projects for both manned flight and scientific and commercial missions.

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 launches are expected to resume.