SpaceX Crew-9 dropped 2 NASA astronauts from ISS mission, but they were prepared (video)
- by Space.com
- Sep 26, 2024
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While SpaceX has flown people to Earth orbit across more than a dozen missions, the risky nature of space exploration mean that all missions are to an extent, developmental. Cardman underscored that on July 26; in a small-group video interview from NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, she told Space.com every space mission has unique challenges.
"I think a lot of the value that we get from sending humans to space is that it is a constant challenge," Cardman said, specifically citing Starliner as a recent example.
"I think many of the ongoing events in human spaceflight are a reminder of how complex and how challenging it is," added Cardman, who was a marine scientist by training prior to being selected by NASA in 2017. "It really takes constant vigilance, and a lot of creative processes as well. As someone from a scientific background, you never are done learning."
SpaceX Crew-9 commander and NASA astronaut Zena Cardman practicing in a Crew Dragon simulator.
(Image credit: SpaceX)
Wilson's debut mission on the space shuttle was in 2006, some 25 years after the first mission of that program flew to space. The shuttle, however, was always evolving: new procedures would be implemented, parts replaced and safety protocols renewed throughout its tenure. Two missions that killed their crews — STS-51L Challenger in 1986 and STS-107 Columbia in 2003 — created a lot of necessary change in the program as well.
"It is developmental. We're doing new things ... We need to continue our vigilance for every flight, for every mission," Wilson said of the space shuttle, and of spaceflight in general, in a separate video interview.
"Flying humans, she emphasized, is complex by nature: "Sometimes the hardware talks to us and operates differently, and we have to do our best to do more testing to understand it."
SpaceX Crew-9 mission specialist Stephanie Wilson, also a NASA astronaut, is a veteran of three space shuttle missions between 2006 and 2010.
(Image credit: SpaceX)
Hague's first, brief launch to space showed how the long-running Russian Soyuz spacecraft and rocket are also developmental, despite decades of work in space, when a rocket issue caused a rare abort of the system in 2018. He and Russian cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin landed back on Earth safely, and they successfully made it to the ISS on a second try in 2019.
"You can fool yourself into thinking, well, it's not going to happen to me," Hague said of the abort, in a separate interview. "Well, myself, my family, all of my friends and family and loved ones, they can't turn a blind eye to the risks associated with it.
"That leads to a lot of conversations about, why are we doing what we're doing?" he continued. " 'Why are we taking that risk? Why are you putting yourself on the top of that rocket?' Those conversations, you realize this is just the sheer significance of what we're doing."
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