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 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
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.
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An aurora streams below Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft docked to the forward port on the Harmony module as the International Space Station soared 266 miles above the Indian Ocean southwest of Australia. Photo credit: NASA/Matt Dominick
NASA and Boeing leadership are adjusting the return to Earth of the Starliner Crew Flight Test spacecraft with agency astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams from the International Space Station. The move off Wednesday, June 26, deconflicts Starliner’s undocking and landing from a series of planned International Space Station spacewalks while allowing mission teams time to review propulsion system data. Listen to a full replay of the June 18 media briefing where NASA and Boeing leadership discussed the ongoing efforts.
“We are taking our time and following our standard mission management team process,” said Steve Stich, manager of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. “We are letting the data drive our decision making relative to managing the small helium system leaks and thruster performance we observed during rendezvous and docking. Additionally, given the duration of the mission, it is appropriate for us to complete an agency-level review, similar to what was done ahead of the NASA’s SpaceX Demo-2 return after two months on orbit, to document the agency’s formal acceptance on proceeding as planned.”
A media telecon with mission leadership will follow the readiness review’s conclusion, and the agency will share those details as they are solidified. Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft remains cleared for return in case of an emergency on the space station that required the crew to leave orbit and come back to Earth.
Mission managers are evaluating future return opportunities following the station’s two planned spacewalks on Monday, June 24, and Tuesday, July 2.
“Starliner is performing well in orbit while docked to the space station,” said Stich. “We are strategically using the extra time to clear a path for some critical station activities while completing readiness for Butch and Suni’s return on Starliner and gaining valuable insight into the system upgrades we will want to make for post-certification missions.”
Wilmore and Williams remain integrated with the Expedition 71 crew, assisting with station operations as needed and completing add-on in-flight objectives for NASA certification of Starliner.
“The crew’s feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, and they know that every bit of learning we do on the Crew Flight Test will improve and sharpen our experience for future crews,” said Mark Nappi, vice president and program manager, Boeing’s Starliner Program.
The crew is not pressed for time to leave the station since there are plenty of supplies in orbit, and the station’s schedule is relatively open through mid-August.
Astronauts Jeanette Epps and Mike Barratt assist astronaut Tracy C. Dyson, all three from NASA, during a spacesuit fit check inside the space station’s Quest airlock.
The two crews living and working aboard the International Space Station continued gearing up for next week’s science and maintenance spacewalk. The nine space lab inhabitants also focused on long-running heart research and continuous maintenance on orbital lab systems.
NASA Flight Engineers Tracy C. Dyson and Mike Barratt are getting ready for the first spacewalk of the Expedition 71 mission set to begin at 8 a.m. EDT on Monday, June 24. The suited up duo will exit the depressurized Quest airlock into the vacuum of space for six-and-a-half hours of radio hardware removal tasks and sample collections of microorganisms that may have exited through station vents.
The veteran astronauts joined Matthew Dominick and Jeanette Epps, both first time NASA flight engineers, studying and practicing the Canadarm2 robotic arm maneuvers necessary to support Monday’s spacewalk. Afterward, the astronaut quartet called down to mission controllers and discussed readiness for the communications hardware and research excursion. This will be Dyson’s fourth career spacewalk since 2010 when she was an Expedition 24 Flight Engineer. This will Barratt’s third spacewalk since 2009 when he was an Expedition 20 Flight Engineer.
NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, Commander and Pilot respectively for the Boeing Crew Flight Test, helped tidy up the orbital lab on Thursday and adjusted seats inside the Starliner spacecraft. Wilmore first swapped out thermal gear that protects electronics hardware then refreshed crew provisions inside the orbital outpost. Williams packed trash inside Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus space freighter, swapped out plumbing components, then exchanged space physics research hardware. The two experienced crewmates also entered Starliner and configured the seats aboard the spacecraft before its upcoming departure.
Station Commander Oleg Kononenko and Flight Engineer Nikolai Chub took turns on Thursday staying still for a period of time while wearing sensors recording their heart activity. The yearslong Roscosmos space cardiac study is helping researchers understand how the human heart adapts to long-term weightlessness. Flight Engineer Alexander Grebenkin assisted the duo with the heart research, then set up a camera for automated photography of the Earth’s surface, and finally focused on life support maintenance.
This view from a window on the cupola overlooks a portion of the International Space and shows the partially obscured Starliner spacecraft from Boeing docked to the Harmony module’s forward port. Photo credit: NASA
NASA and Boeing now are targeting no earlier than Saturday, June 22, to return the agency’s Boeing Crew Flight Test mission from the International Space Station. The extra time allows the team to finalize departure planning and operations while the spacecraft remains cleared for crew emergency return scenarios within the flight rules.
NASA and Boeing leadership will discuss the details of the new return target, flight status, and weather considerations for landing during a pre-departure media teleconference at 12 p.m. EDT Tuesday, June 18. NASA will provide additional media teleconference details soon.
“We are continuing to understand the capabilities of Starliner to prepare for the long-term goal of having it perform a six-month docked mission at the space station,” said Steve Stich, manager of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. “The crew will perform additional hatch operations to better understand its handling, repeat some ‘safe haven’ testing and assess piloting using the forward window.”
NASA and Boeing teams also prepared plans for Starliner to fire seven of its eight aft-facing thrusters while docked to the station to evaluate thruster performance for the remainder of the mission. Known as a “hot fire test,” the process will see two bursts of the thrusters, totaling about a second, as part of a pathfinder process to evaluate how the spacecraft will perform during future operational missions after being docked to the space station for six months. The crew also will investigate cabin air temperature readings across the cabin to correlate to the life support system temperature measurements.
“We have an incredible opportunity to spend more time at station and perform more tests which provides invaluable data unique to our position,” said Mark Nappi, vice president and program manager, Commercial Crew Program, Boeing. “As the integrated NASA and Boeing teams have said each step of the way, we have plenty of margin and time on station to maximize the opportunity for all partners to learn – including our crew.”
NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, who are serving as Starliner’s crew for the mission, arrived at the International Space Station on June 6. They’ve completed numerous flight objectives required for NASA certification of Boeing’s transportation system for flights to the orbiting laboratory under the agency’s Commercial Crew Program.
Over the past three days, Wilmore and Williams have performed tasks as part of the space station team, including installing research equipment, maintaining the lab’s hardware, and helping station crewmembers Matt Dominick and Tracy Dyson prepare for a spacewalk. After NASA called off Thursday’s spacewalk, Williams worked to help the crew out of their spacesuits.
Engineering teams continue to increase their understanding of previous observations from Starliner propulsion systems on the spacecraft’s service module.
Pending spacecraft return readiness and acceptable weather conditions, Starliner will undock from the space station for a parachute and airbag-assisted landing in the southwestern United States. Get the latest mission updates by following the commercial crew blog, @commercial_crew on X, and commercial crew on Facebook.
The Starliner spacecraft on NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test approaches the International Space Station while orbiting 263 miles above Quebec, Canada. NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams aboard Starliner docked to the orbital outpost’s forward port on the Harmony module at 1:34 p.m. EDT on Thursday, June 6. Photo credit: NASA
Orbiting Earth as part of the nine-person crew of the International Space Station, NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams continue testing Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft as part of its first flight with astronauts. The testing is part of the data collection on the Starliner system for certification by NASA for regular crewed mission to the orbital complex.
As part of NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test, Wilmore and Williams, along with teams on the ground, are stepping through numerous flight objectives following arrival of Starliner to the space station on June 6, including:
Powering the spacecraft down into a minimal power mode, which it will enter during operational missions while the crew works aboard station, and then powering it up again;
Conducting “safe haven” checks to show the spacecraft can support a crew with its own air and consumables during in an emergency on the station;
Performing a habitability study, along with astronauts Tracy Dyson and Matthew Dominick,to evaluate seating positions and other factors, such as air circulation for a four-person crew;
Evaluating spacesuit and seat-fits, as well as checkouts of the service module’s batteries.
Meanwhile, ground teams continue to assess and monitor Starliner’s performance and planning for return of the mission no earlier than Tuesday, June 18, pending weather and spacecraft readiness. Starliner is cleared for crew emergency return scenarios from space station, if needed, in accordance with the flight rules.
While Starliner remains docked to station, ground teams are continuing to evaluate propulsion system in-flight observations.
“Butch and Suni are doing great aboard station as ground teams continue digging into the details of Starliner’s on-orbit, rendezvous, and docked performance,” said Steve Stich, manager, NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. “We expected to do a lot of valuable learning on this test flight, and I am extremely proud of how the NASA and Boeing teams are working together to ensure we can safely execute the return portion of the mission.”
One of Starliner’s aft-facing reaction control system (RCS) thrusters, capable of about 85 pounds of thrust, remains de-selected as teams continue to evaluate its performance. Ground teams plan to fire all 28 RCS thrusters after undocking to collect additional data signatures on the service module thrusters before the hardware is expended. As part of normal operations, the service module separates from crew module on return, so NASA and Boeing will gather as much data as possible to aid in system assessments.
Teams currently are assessing what impacts, if any, five small leaks in the service module helium manifolds would have on the remainder of the mission. Engineers evaluated the helium supply based on current leak rates and determined that Starliner has plenty of margin to support the return trip from station. Only seven hours of free-flight time is needed to perform a normal end of mission, and Starliner currently has enough helium left in its tanks to support 70 hours of free flight activity following undocking. While Starliner is docked, all the manifolds are closed per normal mission operations preventing helium loss from the tanks.
Engineers also are evaluating an RCS oxidizer isolation valve in the service module that is not properly closed. Ground teams performed a successful propulsion system valve checkout on Sunday. All other oxidizer and fuel valves within the service module were cycled normally. The suspect oxidizer isolation valve was not cycled in the recent checkout. It will remain commanded closed for the remainder of the mission while ground teams continue to evaluate its data signatures. The crew module propulsion valves, which are part of an independent system that steers the capsule in the last phase of flight before landing, also were successfully cycled, and all those valves are performing as designed.
Mission managers are continuing to work through the return plan, which includes assessments of flight rationale, fault tolerance, and potential operational mitigations for the remainder of the flight. NASA and Boeing will hold a pre-departure media teleconference to provide additional updates before Starliner undocks from station.
With launch and docking already completed, the last remaining dynamic phase of the mission will come at the end of the flight test when Starliner will undock from the orbiting laboratory and then adjust its orbit to move away from the space station. The spacecraft, with Wilmore and Williams aboard, will perform a deorbit burn before entering the atmosphere and landing in the southwestern United States under parachutes and landing airbags to complete the flight.
As part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program, the mission is the first crewed flight for the Starliner spacecraft. Learn more about the mission by following the commercial crew blog,@commercial_crew on X, and commercial crew on Facebook.
A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket carrying a Boeing Starliner spacecraft launches NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on Wednesday, June 5, 2024. Photo credit: NASA Television
NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test astronauts are on their way to the International Space Station!
The capsule, carrying NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore, commander, and Suni Williams, pilot, is expected to reach the orbiting laboratory at 12:15 p.m. EDT, Thursday, June 6.
A postlaunch news conference will be held at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida and is scheduled to begin at 12:30 p.m. with the following participants:
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson
Ken Bowersox, associate administrator, NASA’s Space Operations Mission Directorate
Joel Montalbano, deputy associate administrator, NASA’s Space Operations Mission Directorate
Steve Stich, manager, NASA’s Commercial Crew Program
Mark Nappi, vice president and program manager, Commercial Crew Program, Boeing
Tory Bruno, president and CEO, ULA
Coverage of the postlaunch news conference will air live on NASA+, the NASA app, YouTube, and the agency’s website.
Once the postlaunch news conference is complete, NASA+ coverage will end, and mission coverage will continue on both NASA channels. NASA+ coverage will resume at 9:30 a.m. Thursday, June 6, as Starliner approaches the space station for a docking to the forward-facing port of the Harmony module.
The United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket booster separates from the Centaur upper stage carrying Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft and NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams. Photo credit: NASA Television
The United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket booster has separated from the Centaur upper stage carrying Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft. The Centaur will continue to help propel Boeing’s Starliner to a suborbit before the spacecraft boosts itself to orbit, bringing it closer to the International Space Station.
Measuring 10 feet in diameter and 41.5 feet in length, the Centaur upper stage uses liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen to power its twin Aerojet Rocketdyne RL10A-4-2 engines. The burn of the Centaur’s dual engines is expected to last a little more than seven minutes before engine cutoff and separation from Starliner. Following separation, the crew capsule carrying NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams will be on its own for the remainder of the journey to the space station.
Following its separation, the Atlas Centaur will land in the ocean near Australia.
NASA Television will provide continuous coverage leading up to docking at the space station and through hatch opening and welcome remarks.
A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket carrying Boeing’s Starliner capsule with NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams has reached Max Q. The milestone is the moment of peak aerodynamic pressure on the rocket.
Following Max Q will be Atlas V booster engine cutoff and separation.
A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket soars from the pad at Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida at 10:52 a.m. ET Wednesday, June 5, 2024, carrying a Boeing Starliner spacecraft for NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test to the International Space Station. Photo credit: NASA Television
We have liftoff! The United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket, carrying Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft and NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore, commander, and Suni Williams, pilot, are on a course to the International Space Station.
The crew is on a roughly 25.5-hour journey with rendezvous and docking expected at 12:15 p.m. EDT, Thursday, June 6.
The crew flight test mission makes history in several ways. As the first crewed launch of Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft, Williams is the first female astronaut to fly on the first flight of a crewed spacecraft. The launch also marks the first crewed launch on the ULA Atlas V rocket and the first crewed launch on an Atlas-family class rocket since Gordon Cooper on the last Mercury program flight aboard “Faith 7” in May 1963.
Next up is Max Q, or the moment of peak aerodynamic pressure on the rocket.
Launch coverage on NASA+ will end shortly after Starliner orbital insertion, happening about 30 minutes from now. NASA Television will provide continuous coverage leading up to docking at the space station and through hatch opening and welcome remarks.
