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NASA and SpaceX moved Crew-9’s next launch opportunity to no earlier than 1:17 p.m. EDT on September 28, 2024, as Tropical Storm Helene threatened Florida with high winds and heavy rain. The mission was postponed, not canceled, and it ultimately launched on the revised date.
Why Crew-9’s launch was delayed
NASA and SpaceX announced the schedule change on September 24, 2024. Helene was then classified as a tropical storm and moving through the Gulf of Mexico, but NASA said the system was large enough to bring high winds and heavy rain to Cape Canaveral and Merritt Island on Florida’s Atlantic coast. The forecast conditions prompted teams to shift the launch target. NASA’s announcement
Weather affects more than the moment a rocket lifts off. In this case, NASA specifically cited conditions expected around the launch area; the vehicle and facilities also needed protection while the storm passed. Helene later strengthened into Hurricane Helene before making landfall on September 26. The September 24 decision was based on the forecast at the time, not a report of damage to the rocket or launch site.
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The Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft were already at Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The plan was to conduct a rehearsal of launch-day activities, then move the integrated vehicle back into its hangar ahead of the storm’s strongest conditions. That was a precautionary sheltering step, not a response to a technical problem. NASA’s Commercial Crew update
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NASA set the new opportunity for no earlier than 1:17 p.m. EDT on Saturday, September 28. “No earlier than,” often abbreviated NET, means the launch could not take place before that time; it was not a guarantee of liftoff. Launch plans remained dependent on conditions, and NASA reported on September 26 that the crew was preparing for the Saturday attempt, weather permitting. NASA’s September 26 update
Who was flying on Crew-9?
The two-person launch crew consisted of NASA astronaut Nick Hague, the mission commander, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, the mission specialist. Crew-9 was SpaceX’s ninth crew-rotation flight for NASA under the Commercial Crew Program. The crew was headed to the International Space Station for a mission expected to last about five months, including research and station-maintenance work. NASA’s crew and mission announcement
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The small launch crew was unrelated to Helene. Crew-9 had originally been planned for four people, but NASA changed the crew arrangement after deciding that Boeing’s Starliner would return to Earth without astronauts Barry Wilmore and Sunita Williams aboard. Dragon had seats available for Wilmore and Williams on its return trip. That Starliner-related decision changed the crew plan; the September 24 postponement was a separate, weather-driven adjustment. NASA’s September 2024 Commercial Crew status document
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NASA’s September 26 update kept September 28 as the target, subject to weather. Crew-9 then launched successfully on September 28, 2024, aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 carrying the Dragon spacecraft Freedom from SLC-40. It was the first crewed launch from that launch complex. SpaceX’s Crew-9 mission page
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Crew-9 weather-delay timeline
- September 12, 2024: The Crew-9 astronauts entered quarantine ahead of launch. NASA
- September 23: NASA reported that the flight-readiness review had concluded. NASA
- September 24: NASA and SpaceX shifted the next launch opportunity to no earlier than September 28 because of expected Helene-related weather.
- September 26: NASA said the crew was preparing for the Saturday attempt, weather permitting.
- September 28: Crew-9 launched successfully.
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