SpaceX Crew Dragon mission: Obectives, launch date & time, and how to watch it live online

NASA is gearing up for a crucial mission this week with the launch of the SpaceX Crew-9 flight to the International Space Station (ISS). SpaceX's upcoming Crew Dragon mission, a routine flight called Crew-9, is expected to send three NASA astronauts and a Russian cosmonaut to the International Space Station. The launch, however, has been pushed back to Sept. 28 due to Tropical Storm Helene.

SpaceX Crew Dragon mission obectives

The mission has evolved into a rescue operation due to recent complications. Originally intended to simply deliver new crew members, Crew-9 is now tasked with bringing back astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore, who have been stranded on the ISS following issues with Boeing's Starliner spacecraft.

NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov are to launch aboard the Dragon spacecraft to the ISS, on what will be the ninth crew rotation mission with SpaceX under the space agency's Commercial Crew Program.

SpaceX Crew Dragon mission: Launch date and time

The Crew-9 mission was originally stated to be launched no earlier than Aug. 18, but was pushed back a month to spend more time analyzing issues with Boeing's Starliner spacecraft, which remains docked at the station.

SpaceX and NASA are now targeting no earlier than Saturday, September 28 for Falcon 9’s launch of Dragon’s ninth operational human spaceflight mission (Crew-9) to the International Space Station from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The instantaneous launch is at 1:17 p.m. ET, with a backup opportunity available on Sunday, September 29 at 12:54 p.m. ET if needed.

SpaceX Crew Dragon mission: How to watch live

A live webcast of this mission will begin about one hour prior to liftoff, which you can watch here and on X @SpaceX. You can also watch the webcast on the new X TV app.

The Dragon spacecraft supporting this mission previously flew the Crew-4, Ax-2, and Ax-3 missions to and from the International Space Station. Following stage separation, Falcon 9’s first stage will land on Landing Zone 1 (LZ-1) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

During their time on the orbiting laboratory, the crew will conduct over 200 scientific experiments and technology demonstrations to prepare for human exploration beyond low-Earth orbit and to benefit humanity on Earth.