A SpaceX rocket launched on Saturday with two passengers aboard, leaving two seats open to bring back American astronauts who have been stuck on the International Space Station (ISS) for several months, according to NASA.
The Falcon 9 rocket lifted off at 1:17 PM (1717 GMT) from Cape Canaveral, Florida, using a new launch pad that had not been utilized for a crewed mission before.
“Congrats to @NASA and @SpaceX on a successful launch,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson in a post on X. “We are living in an exciting era of exploration and innovation in space.”
The crew included NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Gorbunov.
Upon their return from the ISS in February, they will bring back two experienced astronauts—Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams—who have been stranded there for months due to issues with their Boeing-designed Starliner spacecraft.
The Starliner, which was on its first crewed flight, delivered Wilmore and Williams to the ISS in June. They were originally scheduled for an eight-day mission but encountered problems with the Starliner’s propulsion system during their journey, leading NASA to reconsider their plans.
After extensive testing on the Starliner’s reliability, NASA opted to bring it back to Earth without its crew, instead returning Wilmore and Williams on the SpaceX Crew-9 mission.
“This launch is somewhat unique in that we’re moving from a plan for full crew members to just two,” NASA Associate Administrator Jim Free told reporters. “I want to thank SpaceX for their support and flexibility.”
SpaceX, founded by billionaire Elon Musk, has been conducting regular missions every six months to rotate ISS crews. The Crew-9 launch was postponed from mid-August to late September to give NASA more time to assess the Starliner’s reliability. It faced additional delays due to Hurricane Helene, which impacted the Florida coast on Thursday.
SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft is expected to dock with the ISS on Sunday around 2130 GMT. Following a handover of duties, the four members of Crew-8 will return to Earth on another SpaceX vehicle.
Overall, Hague and Gorbunov will spend about five months on the ISS, while Wilmore and Williams will remain for eight months. Crew-9 is also set to conduct approximately 200 scientific experiments.
