From right to left, NASA SpaceX Crew-9 members Nick Hague, commander, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, mission specialist, pose for an official crew portrait at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. Photo Credit: NASA/Josh Valcarel
Members of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 mission will spend the next two weeks in routine preflight quarantine at the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston ahead of their mission to the International Space Station.
NASA and SpaceX have shifted the Crew-9 launch to no earlier than Wednesday, Sept. 25, to complete prelaunch preparations and ensure separation between operations. Liftoff is targeted for 2:28 p.m. EDT from Space Launch Complex-40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft. This is the first time a human spaceflight mission will launch from the pad. Additional launch opportunities are available on Thursday, Sept. 26, Friday, Sept. 27, and Saturday, Sept. 28.
NASA astronaut Nick Hague, commander, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, mission specialist, will remain in isolation to prevent exposure to any illnesses before they join the Expedition 72 crew at the space station. As part of the Crew-9 crew, Hague and Gorbunov will join NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, who arrived to the space station in June.
Hague and Gorbunov are set to arrive at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Friday, Sept. 20, where the pair will remain in quarantine at the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building until launch.
Crew-9 is the ninth crew rotation mission with SpaceX to the space station under NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. The crew will spend approximately five months at the orbiting laboratory conducting spacewalks, research demonstrations, and experiments before returning in February 2025.
Boeing’s Starliner touches down at White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico at 12:01 a.m. EDT Saturday, Sept. 7, completing the agency’s Crew Flight Test. Photo credit: NASA
At 12:01 a.m. EDT, Boeing’s uncrewed Starliner spacecraft landed at White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico.
NASA will provide coverage of a post-landing news conference at 1:30 a.m. on NASA+, the NASA app, YouTube, and the agency’s website.
The following will participate in the news conference:
Joel Montalbano, deputy associate administrator, Space Operations Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington
Steve Stich, manager, Commercial Crew Program, NASA Kennedy Space Center in Florida
Dana Weigel, manager, International Space Station, NASA Johnson
The uncrewed Boeing Starliner spacecraft is less than two minutes from landing on U.S. soil after spending three months at the International Space Station. Starliner is the first American-made orbital crew capsule designed to perform a ground landing as a reusable spacecraft.
The base heat shield separated from the spacecraft to allow the six airbags to inflate and brace for a ground landing. The three main parachutes are also slowing down the uncrewed capsule.
The airbags are filled with nitrogen to cushion Starliner’s landing at White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico. The NASA and Boeing landing and recovery team is stationed at a holding zone near the landing site. After landing, technicians will use equipment to “sniff” the spacecraft for any lingering hypergolic fluids before approaching Starliner, opening the hatch, and unloading time-critical cargo. The spacecraft will then be transported to Boeing facilities at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft descends under parachutes toward its landing site in New Mexico during its return to Earth on Friday, Sept. 6, 2024. Photo credit: NASA
NASA’s coverage continues as Boeing’s uncrewed Starliner spacecraft reaches the final stages of landing.
Around 30,000 feet after atmospheric re-entry, the forward heat shield separated from the spacecraft and the drogue parachutes inflated to help slow down the uncrewed capsule.
About 45 seconds later, at around 8,000 feet, the drogue parachutes separated to make way for three larger main parachutes to deploy, slow down Starliner to 4 miles per hour, and allow an airbag-assisted landing.
Soon, the base heat shield will jettison to expose six airbags that will inflate to assist in a soft landing at White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico in just a few minutes at 12 a.m. EDT, Saturday, Sept. 7.
Watch landing coverage on NASA+, the NASA app, and the agency’s website. Learn how to stream NASA programming through a variety of platforms including social media.
NASA’s coverage continues on NASA+, the NASA app, and YouTube, and the agency’s website as Boeing’s uncrewed Starliner spacecraft begins entry interface 400,000 feet above Earth.
As the hottest part of re-entry, the spacecraft’s heat shield will reach 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit as it enters the atmosphere.
Starliner is equipped with an ablative heat shield containing a layer of plastic resin that will heat up to gas and carry the heat away from the crew capsule through convection. This process helps keep the temperature inside the capsule around 70 degrees Fahrenheit. Similar heat shields were used on Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo spacecrafts.
The spacecraft is expected to land at approximately 12 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 7, at White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico.
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A graphic depicting Boeing Starliner’s spacecraft conducting its deorbit burn as it returns to Earth as part of the agency’s Crew Flight Test on Friday, June 6, 2024. Photo credit: NASA
At 11:18 p.m. EDT, Boeing’s uncrewed Starliner spacecraft completed its deorbit burn as expected over the Pacific Ocean. About two and a half minutes later, the spacecraft’s expendable service module separated. The service module provided propulsion and power leading up to the deorbit burn.
NASA’s coverage continues on NASA+, the NASA app, YouTube, and the agency’s website as teams prepare for landing.
The next milestone is in about 15 minutes with entry interface. Starliner will angle itself and its heat shield for re-entry as the spacecraft prepares for a parachute-and-airbag-assisted landing at approximately 12 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 7, at White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico.
Starliner is the first American-made orbital crew capsule designed to perform a ground landing as a reusable spacecraft. NASA’s Spaceflight Meteorology Group forecasts a few clouds at 8,000 feet and winds out of 100 degrees around 6 knots, peaking to 8 knots, for tonight’s landing.
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Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft is seen during its return to Earth after undocking from the International Space Station at 6:04 p.m. EDT on Friday, June 6, 2024. Photo credit: NASA
NASA’s coverage is underway on NASA+, the NASA app, and YouTube, and the agency’s website as Boeing’s uncrewed Starliner spacecraft prepares for deorbit burn, entry, and landing.
Starliner autonomously undocked from the forward-facing port of the International Space Station’s Harmony module at 6:04 p.m. EDT, and mission managers gave a “go” for the spacecraft to proceed for a deorbit burn.
Starliner’s deorbit burn is expected at 11:17 p.m. EDT and involves the spacecraft firing its larger orbital maneuvering and attitude control thrusters, providing the power necessary to re-enter Earth’s atmosphere.
Learn how to stream NASA programming through a variety of platforms including social media.
The uncrewed Starliner spacecraft backs away from the International Space Station shortly undocking from the Harmony module. Credit: NASA+
At 6:04 p.m. EDT, Boeing’s uncrewed Starliner spacecraft undocked from the International Space Station. Starliner is headed for a deorbit burn at 11:17 p.m. and a targeted landing at 12 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 7, at White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico.
NASA’s coverage will begin at 10:50 p.m. for deorbit burn, entry, and landing on NASA+, the NASA app, YouTube, and the agency’s website.
Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft is pictured from a window on the SpaceX Dragon Endeavour spacecraft docked to the Harmony module’s forward port.
Mission managers have given the first “go” for the Boeing Starliner spacecraft to undock from the International Space Station at 6:04 p.m. EDT on Friday and land in New Mexico about six hours later. NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams have finished packing Starliner with cargo and configuring its cabin for return. The duo closed Starliner’s hatch for the final time Thursday afternoon readying the spacecraft for its uncrewed departure.
Wilmore and Williams will remain aboard the orbital outpost until February when they are scheduled to return to Earth aboard the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft with the Crew-9 mission. Starliner’s departure coverage begins at 5:45 p.m. Friday on NASA+, the NASA app, YouTube, and the agency’s website.
In the meantime, a multitude of science occurred aboard the orbital outpost on Thursday with the crew exploring microgravity’s effect on the heart and breathing, space botany, fire safety, and Earth observations. Scientists on the ground analyze the research data for unique insights on improving human health on and off the planet as well as promoting Earth and space industries.
NASA astronaut Mike Barratt photographed and watered plants growing for the C4 Photosynthesis in Space experiment inside the Columbus laboratory module’s Veggie space botany facility. The investigation observes space-caused photosynthesis and plant metabolism changes in two types of grasses growing inside the EXPRESS Rack’s Veggie research device. Results may inform bioregenerative life support systems on future spacecraft and boost fundamental knowledge of botanical processes on Earth.
Fire safety on spacecraft is just as critical and important as fire safety on Earth. However, flames and materials burn differently in the weightless environment requiring a different approach to fire protection. Researchers are using the space station’s Combustion Integrated Rack (CIR) to safely study flames in space to learn how to protect spacecraft and space habitats. NASA Flight Engineer Jeanette Epps swapped components and removed burnt samples inside the CIR for a series of experiments exploring space flammability and fire suppression in microgravity.
Pointing his camera out a window in the cupola and toward the Moon, NASA Flight Engineer Matthew Dominick photographed light reflecting off the lunar surface illuminated from Earth, also called earthshine. Measuring changes in Earth’s light reflected from the Moon may help scientists update their climate models and inform the design of future atmosphere observing satellites.
Roscosmos Commander Oleg Kononenko spent his day preparing for upcoming Soyuz spacecraft operations. The five-time station resident is collecting cargo that will soon be packed in the Soyuz MS-25 spacecraft for its departure in late September. Afterward, the veteran cosmonaut readied the Rassvet module for the Sept. 11 docking of the Soyuz MS-26 crew ship bringing to the orbital lab NASA astronaut Don Pettit and Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Wagner. Flight Engineers Nikolai Chub and Alexander Grebenkin split their day conducting a variety of Roscosmos research and lab maintenance tasks. Chub and Kononenko also participated in eye checks at the end of the day on Thursday.
The ISS Progress 89 cargo craft docked to the Zvezda service module’s rear port fired its thrusters at 3:45 p.m. for 13 minutes today raising the space station’s altitude. The orbital reboost is the third and final maneuver setting up the proper phasing for the arrival of the Soyuz MS-26 next week and Starliner’s undocking opportunity on Friday.
