NASA will hold two news conferences on Friday, July 26, at the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston to highlight upcoming crew change missions to the International Space Station.
NASA will hold a press conference at 12:00 p.m. EDT to outline the mission. NASA+NASA TV, NASA App, Youtubeand the Distributor WebsiteThe press conference will cover NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 mission to the microgravity laboratory, as well as Expeditions 71 and 72.
NASA will hold a crew press conference at 2 p.m. NASA+NASA TV, NASA App, Youtubeand the agency Website, Individual interviews with the astronauts will take place from 3 p.m. Stream NASA TV Through various platforms, including social media.
The Crew 9 mission, scheduled for launch in mid-August, will carry NASA astronauts. Zena Cardman, Nick Hague, Stephanie Wilsonand Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Gorbunov to the orbital laboratory. SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket will launch the crew aboard its Dragon spacecraft from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, marking the company’s ninth crew-change mission for NASA.
These events will be the final media opportunity to speak with the Crew 9 astronauts before they depart for launch at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. U.S.-based media wishing to participate in person should contact the NASA Johnson Newsroom by 5 p.m. on Thursday, July 25 at 281-483-5111 or Email:U.S. and international media who wish to participate by phone should contact NASA Johnson by 9:45 a.m. on the day of the event.
U.S. or international media seeking remote interviews should submit requests to the NASA Johnson Press Office by 5 p.m. Thursday, July 25. Media Accreditation Policy I’m online.
Participants in the briefing include (all times are Eastern time and subject to change based on real-time operations):
12:00pm: Mission Overview News. Meeting
- Steve Stich, NASA Johnson Commercial Crew Program Manager
- Dana Weigel, NASA Johnson International Space Station Program Manager
- Sarah Walker, Director of Dragon Mission Management, SpaceX
- Sergey Krikalev, Executive Director of Roscosmos’ Human Space Flight Programme
2pm: Crew press conference
- Zena Cardman, NASA Space Commander
- Nick Hague, NASA pilot
- Stephanie Wilson, NASA Mission Specialist
- Alexander Gorbunov, Mission Specialist, Roscosmos
3pm: Opportunity for individual crew interviews
- Members of Crew 9 will be available for a limited number of interviews.
The Crew 9 mission will be the first spaceflight for Cardman, who was selected as a NASA astronaut in 2017. A native of Williamsburg, Virginia, Cardman earned a bachelor’s degree in biology and a master’s degree in marine science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. At the time of her selection, she was a doctoral candidate in geosciences. Cardman’s research focuses on geobiology and geochemical cycling in subsurface environments, from caves to deep-sea sediments. Since completing her initial training, Cardman has supported real-time station operations and development for lunar exploration. Follow Zenanaut X and Zenanaut On Instagram.
This will be Hague’s third launch and his second mission to the orbital laboratory, after spending 203 days in space. During his first launch in 2018, Hague and crew member, Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexei Ovchinin, suffered a rocket booster failure that caused the Soyuz MS-10 spacecraft to abort mid-flight and land safely. Five months later, Hague launched aboard Soyuz MS-12 to serve as the space station’s flight engineer for Expeditions 59 and 60. Hague conducted three spacewalks to upgrade the space station’s power system and install docking adapters for commercial spacecraft. Hague, an active-duty colonel in the U.S. Space Force, completed a development rotation at the Pentagon in Washington, where he served as the USSF’s director of test and evaluation from 2020 to 2022. Follow @Astro Hague X and @astrohauge On Instagram.
A veteran of three space flights aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery, Wilson spent 42 days in space. During her first mission, STS-121, in July 2006, she and her crew spent 13 days in orbit. Wilson served as the robotic arm operator for spacecraft inspection, installation of the “Leonardo” multipurpose resupply module, and support of extravehicular activities. In October 2007, Wilson and the STS-120 crew delivered the Harmony module to the station and repositioned the solar panels. In April 2010, Wilson and the STS-131 crew completed another resupply mission to the orbital complex, delivering new ammonia tanks for the station’s cooling system, new crew sleeping quarters, a windowed observation facility, and a freezer for experiments. During her nearly 30 years at NASA, Wilson served as the Integration Division Chief for NASA’s Astronaut Office, focusing on the operation of the International Space Station’s systems and payloads.She also served for nine months as acting director of the Program and Project Integration Office at NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland. Follow About X.
This will be Gorbunov’s first trip into space and to the space station. Born in Zheleznogorsk, Kursk Region, Russia, he studied engineering at Moscow Aviation University with a qualification in spacecraft and upper stages. He graduated from the military faculty and specialized in piloting and repairing aircraft, helicopters and aircraft engines. Before being selected as a cosmonaut in 2018, he worked as an engineer for rocket and space company Energia, supporting the launch of cargo spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome.
Learn more below about how NASA is innovating for the benefit of humanity through its Commercial Crew Program.
https://www.nasa.gov/commercialcrew
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Joshua Finch / Jimi Russell
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1100
[email protected] / Email: [email protected]
Leah Chessier / Sandra Jones
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
email address: / Sandra P. [email protected]
