NASA announced the decision to reduce the crew of the Crew-9 mission. It will be reduced from four to two people. This is necessary to make room for astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams, who are stuck on the ISS.
Initially, the crew of the Crew-9 mission looked as follows. Astronaut Zena Cardman was appointed as the crew commander and Nick Hague as the pilot. Astronaut Stephanie Wilson and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov served as mission specialists.
However, the Starliner situation changed everything. After NASA found it too dangerous to return astronauts Barry Wilmore and Sunita Williams aboard the Boeing spacecraft, they had to find some other transportation to return to Earth. The choice was mission Crew-9. The main question was which of the crew members would have to sacrifice their seats for Wilmore and Williams.
Finally, NASA relied on experience. Of the four participants of the Crew-9 mission, only Nick Hague has been in space before, and he knows Russian better than anyone else. Hague flew to the ISS aboard a Soyuz spacecraft. However, he reached the station only at the second attempt. Hague’s first flight ended prematurely due to a launch vehicle accident. That’s why Hague has been reassigned as Crew-9 commander, while Zena Cardman and Stephanie Wilson will remain on Earth. According to a NASA press release, they will be assigned to other missions in the future.
As for Aleksandr Gorbunov, NASA is still holding to its agreement with Roscosmos to swap seats on the spacecraft. U.S. astronauts still fly to the ISS aboard Soyuz, while Roscosmos cosmonauts occasionally get seats on Crew Dragon. For example, Don Pettit will fly to the ISS on a Soyuz MS-26 in September, while Tracy Dyson will return aboard a Soyuz MS-25.
Of course, NASA is heavily criticized for still doing this kind of cooperation with an aggressor country. But the organization explains its position as the absence of a second U.S. spacecraft certified for manned flights, and it needs a safety net in the event of a Crew Dragon accident to ensure the U.S. presence on the ISS remains intact. That’s why it kept the seat for Aleksandr Gorbunov.
Crew-9 is currently scheduled to launch on September 24. The spacecraft will have to return to Earth in February 2025.
According to NASA
