CST-100 Starliner Crew Flight Test

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.

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.

As it happened: NASA discusses ISS schedule shuffle, SpaceX Crew-9 launch delay, Boeing Starliner questions

August 7, 2024 Will Robinson-Smith

The media briefing came after the agency formally pushed back the launch of the SpaceX Crew-9 mission to the International Space Station from mid-August to late-September.

NASA pushes Crew-9 launch to September amid uncertainty of Starliner’s return timeline

August 6, 2024 Will Robinson-Smith

The adjustment of the launch manifest is in line with NASA’s desire to have a direct handover between its two long-duration crews on the International Space Station.

Starliner crew confident spacecraft will bring them safely home

July 11, 2024 William Harwood

Helium leaks and thruster issues prompted NASA to extend their stay aboard the space station indefinitely — Wednesday marked their 35th day in orbit — while engineers carry out tests and analysis to better understand what caused the problems and to make sure the spacecraft can safely being Wilmore and Williams home.

Starliner landing now on indefinite hold for more tests, but NASA insists crew not ‘stranded’ in space

June 29, 2024 William Harwood

The problem for NASA and Boeing is that the Starliner’s service module, which houses the helium lines, thrusters and other critical systems, is discarded before re-entry and burns up in the atmosphere. Engineers will not be able to study the hardware after the fact and as a result, they want to collect as much data as possible before NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams head home.

NASA, Boeing set new undocking, landing date for Starliner spacecraft

June 14, 2024 Will Robinson-Smith

More testing will be done on both the thrusters on the spacecraft’s aft section. The Starliner crew will also repeat some previously conducted test activities, like the ‘safe haven’ protocol.

Starliner crew welcomed aboard space station

June 8, 2024 William Harwood

Working around multiple helium leaks and thruster problems, the crew of Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft wrapped up a challenging rendezvous and a delayed-but-successful docking with the International Space Station Thursday in a major milestone for the new ship’s first piloted test flight.

Third time’s the charm for the Boeing Starliner Crew Flight Test

June 5, 2024 Will Robinson-Smith

The launch of two NASA astronauts dealt with two previous scrubs due to a valve issue on the Atlas 5 rocket and then a ground system issue at the launchpad. Liftoff happened at 10:52 a.m. EDT (1452 UTC) on Wednesday, June 5.