Butch Wilmore – Spaceflight Now

SpaceX Dragon Freedom splashes down off coast of Florida, ending Crew-9 mission

March 18, 2025 Will Robinson-Smith

Dragon Freedom undocked from the space station at 1:05 a.m. EDT (1705 UTC) on Tuesday to begin its roughly 17-hour trip to splash down along Florida’s Gulf Coast. The parachute-supported splash down happened at 5:57 p.m. EDT (2157 UTC).

Fresh crew docks at space station; Starliner astronauts expected to return to Earth Tuesday

March 17, 2025 William Harwood

Approaching from behind and below, the Crew Dragon, launched Friday evening from the Kennedy Space Center, passed 1,300 feet directly under the station before looping up to a point 720 feet directly ahead of the outpost. From there, it glided straight in for docking at the Harmony module’s forward port at 12:04 a.m. EDT.

Musk: President Trump calls for fast-track return to Earth of the former Starliner astronauts

January 28, 2025 Will Robinson-Smith

SpaceX was already tasked with returning NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams as part of the Crew-9 mission. That departure was delayed by NASA due to unresolved issues with the fifth Crew Dragon capsule that will launch the Crew-10 flight.

SpaceX launches two to space station, giving Starliner astronauts a ride home in February

September 27, 2024 William Harwood

SpaceX launched a reduced two-man crew on a flight to the International Space Station Saturday, along with supplies and a pair of empty seats for two Starliner astronauts waiting to hitch a ride home in February after an unexpected eight-and-a-half-month stay in orbit.

Two-member SpaceX Crew-9 prepares for late week Dragon launch

September 23, 2024 Will Robinson-Smith

NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexandr Gorbunov arrived in Florida on Saturday afternoon ahead of their final launch preparations. A flight readiness review occurred on Monday, Sept. 23.

As it happened: Boeing’s Starliner returned to Earth, marking the end of the Crew Flight Test mission

September 6, 2024 Will Robinson-Smith

The spacecraft will journey back to Earth without the two astronauts it launched with back on June 5. Undocking is set for 6:04 p.m. EDT (2204 UTC) with landing just after midnight on Saturday.

NASA to announce final determination on how to conclude Starliner Crew Flight Test

August 24, 2024 Will Robinson-Smith

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson is set to discuss the agency’s decision following a rare mid-mission, agency-level flight readiness review. A press conference will begin no earlier than an hour following the conclusion of the discussion.

As it happened: NASA officials discuss latest on Boeing Crew Flight Test

August 14, 2024 Will Robinson-Smith

This media briefing comes as NASA is potentially within a week of making its final decision on how to bring the Starliner CFT crew home. The agency is debating on if Starliner is determined to be safe or if NASA astronauts Barry “Butch” Wilmroe and Sunita “Sunni” Williams will return on a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft.

Make-or-break tests on tap for Boeing’s Starliner capsule

July 26, 2024 William Harwood

Critical tests are on tap this weekend to confirm Boeing’s Starliner capsule can safety carry its two-person crew back to Earth despite unexpected helium leaks and degraded maneuvering thrusters, officials said Thursday.

As it happened: NASA, Boeing provide update on the Starliner Crew Flight Test mission

July 25, 2024 Will Robinson-Smith

The update comes after NASA said it and Boeing completed ground hot fire testing of a reaction control system (RCS) to better understand some of the in-flight anomalies seen during the spacecraft’s rendezvous and docking with the International Space Station.