Hague and Gorbunov are scheduled to return to Earth in February, bringing back veteran astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams. Their stay on the ISS had been extended due to issues with the Boeing-designed Starliner spacecraft.

NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov launched aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon from Cape Canaveral, Florida, shortly after 1 p.m. on Saturday. The Crew-9 capsule successfully made contact with the ISS around 5:30 p.m. on Sunday. Ninety minutes later, Eastern time Hague, Gorbunov boarded the ISS.