National News

Spacecraft carrying Russian, US astronauts arrives at International Space Station

Oct 01, 2024

Washington [US], October 1: A SpaceX spacecraft carrying a US astronaut and a Russian cosmonaut, and two empty seats, arrived at the International Space Station (ISS) on Sunday. NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov took off on Saturday from Cape Canaveral, Florida. The Dragon spacecraft, operated by SpaceX, the private company founded by billionaire Elon Musk, had two empty seats. Originally, astronauts Zena Cardman and Stephanie Wilson were set to be part of NASA's SpaceX Crew-9 mission. However, they gave up their spots to accommodate Suni Williams and Barry Wilmore, astronauts who have been stranded on the ISS due to technical issues with a Boeing-produced Starliner spacecraft. Their stay was scheduled to last one week, but they are set to remain onboard the ISS until at least February 2025, along with Hague and Gorbunov