NEW YORK, August 30. /TASS/. Russian cosmonaut Alexander Gorbunov and American astronaut Nick Hague have joined the crew that will travel to the International Space Station (ISS) aboard the Crew Dragon spacecraft in September, the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) said.
"NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov will launch no earlier than Tuesday, September 24, on the agency’s SpaceX Crew-9 mission to the International Space Station. NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Stephanie Wilson, previously announced as crewmates, are eligible for reassignment on a future mission," the agency said in a statement.
NASA said the decision to reduce the mission to two people was made in order to return astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams from the ISS. The astronauts arrived there in June as part of the first manned mission of the Boeing Starliner spacecraft. They were scheduled to spend eight days at the ISS, but their return was delayed due to a Starliner spacecraft malfunction. They will return to Earth with Gorbunov and Hague in February 2025.