NASA, Boeing Prepare for Starliner Flight This Summer

The Starliner team works to finalize the mate of the crew module and new service module for NASA's Boeing Crew Flight Test that will take NASA astronauts Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Sunita “Suni” Williams to and from the International Space Station.
The Starliner team works to finalize the mate of the crew module and new service module for NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test that will take NASA astronauts Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Sunita “Suni” Williams to and from the International Space Station. Photo credit: Boeing/John Grant

NASA and Boeing now are targeting no earlier than Friday, July 21, for the agency’s Boeing Crew Flight Test (CFT) to the International Space Station, pending coordination for the U.S Eastern Range availability.

The new target date provides NASA and Boeing the necessary time to complete subsystem verification testing and close out test flight certification products and aligns with the space station manifest and range launch opportunities.

The goal of CFT is to test the end-to-end capabilities of the Starliner system with crew onboard, including the United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket, from prelaunch to docking and undocking to landing and recovery. Following a successful test flight, Boeing will work to finalize operational readiness for its post-certification missions and NASA will begin the final process of certifying the Starliner spacecraft and systems for regular, crewed missions to the space station.

Certification Process
Approximately 90% of the certification products required for the flight test are complete. NASA and Boeing anticipate closure on remaining CFT certification products this spring after ongoing verification testing of several subsystems is complete, including testing on the spacecraft’s backup manual flight mode for added redundancy in cases of emergency.

Starliner Status
The Starliner spacecraft build is complete. The team is now working through final interior closeouts of the spacecraft and wrapping up integrated testing. The loading of cargo apart from some late-stow items also is complete. The next major hardware milestones are specific to the launch campaign timeline, such as spacecraft fueling and rolling out to the launch site.

Atlas V Status
NASA completed its rocket readiness assessment, which evaluates all CFT launch vehicle segment flight critical items prior to integration activities. All rocket hardware is at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, awaiting processing ahead of rocket stacking at the launch site.

Crew Readiness
The NASA astronauts who will fly on CFT recently completed the critical Crew Equipment Interface Test. Conducted in two parts during February and March, the test allowed astronauts to perform hands-on training with the tools, equipment and hardware they will use on orbit. In the first part, they worked with the Starliner team to perform in-cabin checkouts, including adjusting the spacecraft seats, inspecting spacecraft interfaces, examining cargo, and conducting floor panel and side hatch operations. The second part of the test included the astronauts maneuvering inside the cabin with cargo installed in the spacecraft.

For more details, listen to an audio replay of the March 29 media teleconference on NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test.

Find out more about NASA’s Commercial Crew Program at:

https://www.nasa.gov/commercialcrew

Endeavour Spacecraft Reaches Orbit, News Conference at 2:30 a.m. EST

NASA's SpaceX Crew-6 liftoff from Kennedy Space Center
NASA’s SpaceX Crew-6 crew members Stephen Bowen, Woody Hoburg, Sultan Alneyadi, and Andrey Fedyaev blast off from Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A in Florida at 12:34 a.m. EST Thursday, March 2, 2023. Photo credit: NASA/Frank Michaux

The SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft Endeavour, carrying NASA astronauts Stephen Bowen, commander; Woody Hoburg, pilot; and mission specialists UAE (United Arab Emirates) astronaut Sultan Alneyadi and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev to the International Space Station, has safely reached orbit, and the nosecone has been opened.

At 2:30 a.m. EST, NASA will host a postlaunch news conference from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The event will be broadcast live on NASA TV and the agency’s website. Participants in the briefing will be:

  • Kathy Lueders, associate administrator, Space Operations Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters in Washington
  • Steve Stich, manager, Commercial Crew Program, Kennedy 
  • Dina Contella, operations integration manager, International Space Station Program, NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston
  • Benji Reed, senior director, Human Spaceflight Program, SpaceX
  • Salem AlMarri, director general, Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre

Crew-6 will dock at the space station at approximately 1:17 a.m. EST on Friday, March 3. Live coverage on NASA TV resumes at 11:30 p.m. EST on March 2 and continues through spacecraft docking, hatch opening (2:55 a.m.), and the welcome ceremony (3:40 a.m.) at the microgravity laboratory.

Follow along with mission activities and get more information here on the Crew-6 blog, commercial crew blog, @commercial_crew on Twitter, and commercial crew on Facebook.

Stage 1 Successfully Lands on SpaceX Drone Ship

Crew-6 mission: Stage 1 landing of SpaceX drone ship
Approximately eight minutes after lifting off from Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A in Florida at 12:34 a.m. EST on March 2, 2023, Stage 1 of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket comes in for a landing on the company’s drone ship, Just Read the Instructions. Photo credit: NASA

Stage 1 of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket completed its descent and successfully landed on SpaceX’s drone ship, Just Read the Instructions, off the coast of Florida.

Crew-6 Reports Trajectory Nominal

The positive call came in from NASA’s SpaceX Crew-6 Commander Stephen Bowen that trajectory is nominal. The first stage has started its descent.

First Stage Main Engine Cutoff, First and Second Stages Separate

The Falcon 9 rocket has reached first stage main engine cutoff (MECO). The first and second stages have separated.

Falcon 9 Reaches Max Q for NASA’s SpaceX Crew-6 Mission

Max Q, or the moment of peak mechanical stress on the rocket, has been reached.

Liftoff! Crew-6 Lights Up the Florida Early Morning Sky

NASA's SpaceX Crew-6 mission launch
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket, with the company’s Dragon Endeavour spacecraft atop, lifts off from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center for NASA’s SpaceX Crew-6 mission at 12:34 a.m. EST Thursday, March 2, 2023. NASA/Frank Michaux

The Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon Endeavour spacecraft roared off of Launch Pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 12:34 a.m. EST! Stephen Bowen and Warren Hoburg, Sultan Alneyadi, and Andrey Fedyaev have successfully begun their approximate 24.5-hour journey to the International Space Station on NASA’s SpaceX Crew-6 mission.

Max Q will happen during the next minute.

Crew-6 Reaches Terminal Count for Launch from Kennedy

The RP-1 rocket fuel load for NASA’s SpaceX Crew-6 mission launch is complete.

It’s just a few minutes until liftoff, and all looks good for the Crew-6 launch! There is still time to tune in to NASA TV or the agency’s website to watch the rocket and spacecraft blast off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-6 Mission 20 Minutes from Launch

NASA's SpaceX Crew-6 mission
Launch of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-6 mission from Kennedy Space Center in Florida is proceeding on schedule for a 12:34 a.m. EST launch. Photo credit: NASA

Fuel loading is complete on the second stage, and liquid oxygen loading has begun. Everything remains on target for the 12:34 a.m. EST launch of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-6 mission from Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A in Florida.

Weather conditions remain extremely favorable. Tune in to NASA TV or the agency’s website for a live broadcast.

The mission is the sixth crew rotation flight of a Dragon spacecraft as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, carrying NASA astronauts Stephen Bowen and Warren Hoburg, who will serve as spacecraft commander and pilot, respectively, and UAE (United Arab Emirates) astronaut Sultan Alneyadi and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev, who will serve as mission specialists.

Propellant and Liquid Oxygen Loading Underway for Crew-6 Launch

Right on schedule – at T-minus 35 minutes – RP-1 (rocket grade kerosene) loading and first stage liquid oxygen loading has begun.

Liftoff, from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, is at 12:34 a.m. EST.

Tune in to NASA TV or the agency’s website for a live broadcast.