The SpaceX Crew Dragon space spacecraft is scheduled to fly on September 28 to return stranded NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore. The launch was originally set for September 26 but was postponed owing to the probable influence of Tropical Storm Helene, which is building in the Gulf of Mexico.
How to watch SpaceX’s Crew Dragon launch live
According to NASA, the launch is scheduled for 6.40 p.m. IST on September 28 from Space Launch Complex-40 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The planned docking time is at 2:30 a.m. on September 29.
The prelaunch briefing, launch, post-launch press conference, and docking will all be broadcast live on NASA+ and the agency’s website. You may also watch NASA programming on a variety of channels, including social media. You may also watch live updates by clicking the streaming YouTube link.
Sunita Williams’ rescue mission
The SpaceX Dragon spaceship will transport NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov to the International Space Station for a five-month scientific mission. This is the ninth crew rotation and tenth human mission to the station funded by Dragon since 2020, as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore will return in February 2025 on the same ship.
Notably, the Crew-9 mission was originally slated for mid-August but had to be postponed so that additional time could be spent analyzing concerns with Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft, which was still parked at the International Space Station at the time. Notably, Crew-9’s four-person crew was reduced in half to accommodate the return of Williams and Wilmore.
Following the discovery of many technical difficulties, including helium leaks, after Williams and Wilmore arrived at the ISS, NASA considered it too unsafe to return onboard the Boeing Starliner. Instead, the Starliner was sent back without a crew and landed safely in New Mexico on September 6.