SpaceX, NASA Plan Crew-9 ISS Launch

SpaceX and NASA announced on Friday that they plan to launch the space agency’s Crew-9 mission to the International Space Station (ISS) no earlier than Aug. 18.

This announcement follows the Federal Aviation Administration’s clearance for SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket to return to space after a rare mid-flight failure earlier this month had grounded it.

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The Falcon 9, the world’s most frequently used rocket, was grounded after one rocket broke apart in space, dooming its payload of Starlink satellites. This was the first failure in more than seven years for a rocket heavily relied upon by the global space industry.

NASA and SpaceX will embark on their ninth crew rotation mission to the ISS, with NASA astronauts Zena Cardman, Nick Hague, Stephanie Wilson, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Gorbunov, launched aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft atop a Falcon 9 rocket.