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2024-01-31
WASHINGTON, January 31, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — As part of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 mission, four crew members are preparing to launch to the International Space Station and conduct a broad set of operational and research activities for the benefit of all .
Launching aboard the Dragon spacecraft, the commander of NASA astronauts Zena CardmanPilot Nick Hagueand mission specialist Stephanie Wilsonand Roscosmos cosmonaut mission specialist Alexander Gorbunov, will join the crew members of Expeditions 71 and 72 no earlier than August. They will arrive at the space station for a brief transfer with NASA’s SpaceX Crew-8 mission.
This will be the first space flight for Cardman, who was selected as a NASA astronaut in 2017. Williamsburg, Virginianative has a Bachelor’s degree in Biology and a Master’s degree in Marine Sciences from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. At the time of selection, she was a PhD candidate in geosciences. Cardman’s research focused on geobiology and geochemical cycling in subsurface environments, from caves to deep-sea sediments. Since she completed initial training, Cardman has supported real-time station operations and development for lunar surface exploration.
With a total of 203 days in space, this will be Hague’s third launch and second mission to the orbital laboratory. During its first launch in 2018, Hague and his crewmate, Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin, experienced a rocket booster failure that caused the launch to be aborted in flight. The Soyuz MS-10 spacecraft landed safely. Five months later, Hague launched aboard Soyuz MS-12 and served as a flight engineer aboard the space station during Expeditions 59 and 60. Hague and his crewmates participated in hundreds of experiments in biology, biotechnology , physical sciences and Earth sciences. Hague conducted three spacewalks to upgrade the space station’s power systems and install a docking adapter for commercial spacecraft. As an active duty colonel in the US Space Force, Hague completed a development rotation at the Department of Defense in Washingtonwhere he served as USSF Director of Test and Evaluation from 2020 to 2022. In August 2022Hague resumed his duties at NASA working on the Boeing Starliner program until this flight assignment.
A veteran of three space flights, STS-121, STS-120 and STS-131, Wilson has spent 42 days in space aboard three separate space shuttle Discovery missions. Before being selected as a NASA astronaut in 1996, she earned her Bachelor of Science in Engineering from Harvard University in Cambridge, MassachusettsMaster’s degree in Aerospace Engineering University of Texas at Austinand worked at Martin Marietta and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in southeastern california. During its first mission, STS-121 in November 2004, she and her crewmates spent 13 days in orbit. Wilson served as robotic arm operator for spacecraft inspection, for installation of the “Leonardo” multipurpose logistics module, and for spacewalk support. In November 2006, Wilson and his STS-120 crewmates aboard Discovery delivered the Harmony module to the station and relocated a solar panel. In May 2009, Wilson and his STS-131 crewmates completed another mission to resupply the station, delivering a new ammonia tank for the station’s cooling system, new crew sleeping quarters, an observation window, and a freezer for experiments. During her nearly 30 years at NASA, Wilson served as chief of the integration branch of NASA’s Astronaut Office, focusing on International Space Station systems and payload operations, and for nine months, she served as acting head of NASA’s Program and Project Integration Office at the agency’s Glenn Research Center in cleveland.
This will be Gorbunov’s first trip to space and to the station. Born in Zheleznogorsk, Kursk region, Russia, studied engineering with degrees in spacecraft and higher stages at the Moscow Aviation Institute. Gorbunov graduated from the military department with a specialty in operation and repair of aircraft, helicopters and aircraft engines. Before being selected as a cosmonaut in 2018, he worked as an engineer for Rocket Space Corporation Energia and supported the launch of cargo spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome.
This is the ninth rotational mission to the space station under NASA command. Commercial crew programwhich works with the US aerospace industry to achieve the goal of safe, reliable and cost-effective transportation to and from the orbital outpost on US-made rockets and spacecraft launched from US soil.
For more than two decades, humans have lived and worked continuously aboard the International Space Station, advancing scientific knowledge and demonstrating new technologies, making advances in research not possible on Earth. The station is a critical test bed for NASA to understand and overcome the challenges of long-duration spaceflight and expand commercial opportunities in low-Earth orbit. As commercial companies focus on providing human space transportation services and destinations as part of a robust low earth orbit economyNASA’s Artemis campaign is underway on the Moon, where the agency is preparing for future human exploration of Mars.
Find more information about NASA’s Commercial Crew Program at:
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