The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft, powered by a Falcon 9 rocket, lifted off for the @ISS at 13:17 (1717 UTC) on Saturday, September 28. Astronaut Nick Hague (@AstroHague) and cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov will conduct science and research on the station for about five months.

Crew-9 is scheduled to return to Earth in February 2025. Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, who launched to the station aboard the Starliner spacecraft, will join Crew-9 on its journey home aboard Dragon.

This is the first crewed launch from Space Launch Complex-40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Crew-9 was launched from SLC-40 to avoid conflicting with preparations for our Europa Clipper mission. Europa Clipper, a science mission to Jupiter's ocean moon, will lift off on a Falcon Heavy rocket from Launch Complex 39A at @NASAKennedy on October 10 at the earliest.

Image caption:
1. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Dragon crew spacecraft is seen in the center of the frame seconds after launch. The rocket has cleared the tower and a large plume of exhaust smoke can be seen below it. The sky looks mostly cloudy and slightly blue.
Credit: NASA/Keegan Barber

2. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Dragon crew spacecraft is seen in the center of the frame as it heads into the clouds after launch.
Credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett