14 Mar 2025
NASA astronauts Anne McClain, commander and Nichole Ayers, pilot, mission specialists JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Takuya Onishi and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov, and their SpaceX Dragon spacecraft have reached orbit, and the nosecone has opened.
The crew will spend roughly the next 28.5 hours to rendezvous and dock to the International Space Station.
Upon reaching the orbiting laboratory, the newly arrived crew will join NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9, who will familiarize them with ongoing science and station maintenance work, which supports a safe transition of operations aboard the space station. Following a brief handover and pending weather conditions, Crew-9 NASA astronauts Nick Hague, Suni Williams, and Butch Wilmore, along with Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov will board a SpaceX spacecraft, undock from station, and splashdown off the coast of Florida.
A postlaunch news conference will be held at 8:30 p.m. EDT at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida with the following participants:
- Ken Bowersox, associate administrator, NASA’s Space Operations Mission Directorate
- Steve Stich, manager, Commercial Crew Program, NASA Kennedy
- Dina Contella, deputy manager, International Space Station Program, NASA Johnson
- Sarah Walker, director, Dragon Mission Management, SpaceX
- Mayumi Matsuura, vice president and director general, Human Spaceflight Technology Directorate, JAXA
NASA will air the postlaunch news conference on NASA+. Learn how to watch NASA content through a variety of platforms, including social media.
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At 7:03 p.m. EDT, the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft, carrying NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Takuya Onishi, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov, launched from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Friday, March 14, 2025..