NASA cuts crew for next mission to return astronauts stuck at space station

NASA cut two astronauts for the next SpaceX mission in order to return two astronauts who are stuck at the International Space Station, the agency announced Friday. 

The space agency said in a news release that astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos astronaut and mission specialist Aleksandr Gorbunov will head into space as a part of the SpaceX Crew-9 mission in late September. 

NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Stephanie Wilson, who were set to accompany them on the mission, will not be on the spaceflight. NASA said they are still “eligible for reassignment on a future mission.” 

The adjustment will leave two empty seats so the pair can bring back NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore, who have been unable to return to Earth from the space station due to safety issues plaguing their Boeing Starliner capsule. 

Williams and Wilmore launched into space on June 5, following multiple delays caused by helium leaks and thruster failures. The mission, which was intended to last for less than two weeks, turned into a months-long expedition with the pair now docked at the space station.

NASA said last week that Williams and Wilmore will return to Earth in February, but the Starliner capsule, which was Boeing’s first crewed mission to space, will come back to Earth unmanned in September. 

“While we’ve changed crew before for a variety of reasons, downsizing crew for this flight was another tough decision to adjust to given that the crew has trained as a crew of four,” NASA chief astronaut Joe Acaba said in a statement. “I have the utmost confidence in all our crew, who have been excellent throughout training for the mission.” 

“Zena and Stephanie will continue to assist their crewmates ahead of launch, and they exemplify what it means to be a professional astronaut,” Acaba said. 

This will be Gorbunov's first flight. Hague, a former test pilot, has been in space twice.