NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore, Nick Hague, Sunita Williams, and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov make up the Crew-9 crew on the International Space Station (ISS). Initially, it was scheduled to have a short stay, but their mission turned out to be an extended nine-month stay due to persistent spacecraft issues.
Who are the Crew-9 Astronauts?
Butch Wilmore
Barry Eugene “Butch” Wilmore is a NASA astronaut, retired United States Navy captain, and veteran test pilot. Born on December 29, 1962, in Tennessee, USA, Wilmore has been a member of NASA’s space program for decades. He has flown numerous space missions, including STS-129 (2009) and Expedition 41/42 (2014-2015), and was Commander of the ISS.
For the Crew Flight Test mission, Wilmore and Sunita Williams were the first astronauts to fly on Boeing’s Starliner to the ISS. Technical malfunctions, though, kept them there for much longer than the planned two-week mission.
Nick Hague
Tyler N. “Nick” Hague is a U.S. Air Force colonel and NASA astronaut. He was born on September 24, 1975, in Kansas, USA. Hague was chosen by NASA in 2013. He holds a degree in aerospace engineering and served as a test pilot and engineer before being part of the astronaut program.
Hague had previously tried a spaceflight in 2018, but the Soyuz MS-10 mission aborted mid-launch due to an emergency abort. He later flew successfully to the ISS in 2019 on Expedition 59/60, where he performed several spacewalks and experiments.
Sunita Williams
Sunita “Suni” Williams is an American NASA astronaut and former U.S. Navy officer. She was born in 1965 in Ohio, USA. and has spent more than 322 days in space on past missions. She flew on Expedition 14/15 (2006-2007) and Expedition 32/33 (2012), earning records for most spacewalks by a woman astronaut at that time.
Williams, a veteran Navy test pilot, has devoted much of her career to pushing the boundaries of spaceflight operations. She was chosen as one of the initial astronauts for Boeing’s Starliner program, which is working to introduce a new generation of commercial crew transportation to the ISS.
Aleksandr Gorbunov
Aleksandr Gorbunov is a Russian cosmonaut at Roscosmos, with training in long-duration spaceflight missions. His mission on Crew-9 is his maiden trip to the ISS. Gorbunov is a seasoned flight engineer with a great deal of experience in spacecraft operations and maintenance, and he has worked on collaborative international space programs.
Why Are They Stuck in Space?
The astronauts of Crew-9 traveled on Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft on a test flight. Initially, they were planned to fly for two weeks, but their nine-month flight was caused by issues with Starliner’s propulsion and software systems. NASA has now decided to bring them back on SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft instead of the Starliner.
When Will They Return?
The astronauts will return on March 18, 2025, on SpaceX’s Crew Dragon. Their 17-hour flight will end with a scheduled splashdown off Florida’s coast at 5:57 p.m. ET (March 19, 3:27 a.m. IST).
Despite taking longer than anticipated, Wilmore and his crew have been hopeful. “Space exploration always presents problems. We are trained to adapt, and that’s what we’re doing,” Wilmore explained.
