### SpaceX Prepares for Saturday Crew Launch to International Space Station

SpaceX is gearing up for the launch of two astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) this weekend. Scheduled for Saturday at 1:17 p.m. ET, the mission will see the Crew Dragon capsule lift off atop a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. This mission, designated Crew-9, will include NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov.

The launch will add Hague and Gorbunov to Expedition 72, complementing the five astronauts and cosmonauts already aboard the ISS. The new crew members are expected to remain on the space station until February. When they return to Earth, they will bring NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams with them.

Wilmore and Williams initially launched to the ISS on Boeing's Starliner capsule in early June as part of the spacecraft's first crewed test flight. Though their stay was intended to last about eight days, the Starliner experienced helium leaks and thruster issues, which resulted in multiple delays. Consequently, NASA decided to extend their stay at the ISS, while the Boeing capsule returned to Earth on September 7 without astronauts on board.

Originally, Crew-9 was intended to send four astronauts to the space station, but to accommodate Wilmore and Williams on the return trip, two NASA astronauts slated for this flight will have to wait for a future launch.

The mission has seen several delays, the most recent of which was due to Hurricane Helene. The storm, classified as a Category 4 upon making landfall in Florida's Big Bend region late Thursday, has since weakened to a tropical storm but continues to affect the Southeast with strong winds and heavy rain. Earlier in the week, NASA reported a 55% chance of favorable conditions for Saturday's launch. The primary concerns involve atmospheric conditions along the rocket's trajectory into orbit.