SpaceX is gearing up for a crucial mission scheduled to launch on Saturday, 28 September 2024, at 1:17 PM (1717 GMT) from Cape Canaveral, Florida. This mission will transport two crew members to the International Space Station (ISS) while leaving two seats empty to bring back American astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, who have been stranded on the ISS for months due to delays with their Boeing-designed Starliner spacecraft.

On board the Falcon 9 rocket will be NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Gorbunov. The pair will replace Wilmore and Williams, who originally planned for an eight-day stay on the ISS but have now extended their mission due to propulsion issues with the Starliner. After intensive testing and deliberation, NASA decided to proceed with SpaceX's Crew-9 mission for the astronauts' return.

NASA associate administrator Jim Free acknowledged the unique circumstances of this launch, thanking SpaceX for its support and flexibility throughout the process. The mission has faced delays, first pushed from mid-August to late September to evaluate the Starliner's reliability and further delayed by Hurricane Helene's impact on Florida.

Once launched, SpaceX's Dragon vessel is expected to dock with the ISS on Sunday, where it will facilitate the handover of duties between crew members. Crew-9 is set to conduct around 200 scientific experiments during their five-month mission, while Wilmore and Williams will have completed eight months in space by the time they return to Earth.