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topicnews · September 13, 2024

Boeing Starliner crew press conference from ISS: Watch the timeline of the saga

Boeing Starliner crew press conference from ISS: Watch the timeline of the saga

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NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams will participate in a press conference aboard the International Space Station on Friday afternoon, about a week after their original spacecraft, the Boeing Starliner, returned to Earth’s surface without them.

The astronauts, who will answer questions from the media at 2:15 p.m. ET on Friday, launched on their first crewed flight aboard Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft on June 5 and arrived at the space station on June 6. The two astronauts thought they might be home in time for the Fourth of July, but it turns out they won’t even be returning to Earth to welcome the New Year.

After a thorough analysis of the Starliner spacecraft upon landing on June 6, NASA officials concluded that the vehicle was not capable of reliably transporting Wilmore and Williams for the return flight, the space agency said last month. That responsibility will now fall to Boeing’s aerospace rival SpaceX instead.

The empty Starliner spacecraft returned to Earth earlier this month to clear a docking slot for the delayed SpaceX Crew-9, which is scheduled to reach the space station on September 24 for a six-month rotation mission.

The Dragon capsule that will carry Crew-9 into orbit is now also Williams and Wilmore’s way home. For this reason, Crew-9 will only consist of two members instead of four, NASA said. The Starliner crew will then fly with Crew-9 on the Dragon on February 25, 2025, after the SpaceX astronauts have completed their six-month deployment on the station.

Here’s a look at the key moments from Boeing Starliner’s first manned mission, including aborts, launch and return delays.

May 6: Starliner launch cancelled due to disruption of launch times

Starliner’s third and final orbital flight test had been planned for years and was scheduled to launch. It was canceled within hours of launch, according to NASA, when engineers discovered an anomaly with the pressure control valve in the rocket’s upper stage liquid oxygen tank. United Launch Alliance later said in a statement that the cancellation was made “out of an abundance of caution for the safety of the flight and launch pad crew.”

June 1: Starliner prepares for launch again, but is canceled again

On June 1, the Starliner appeared ready to lift off. NASA decided to go ahead with the launch without repairing the helium leak because the chemical used in spacecraft’s engine systems is neither flammable nor toxic. But the launch was aborted again, this time minutes before liftoff due to a computer problem, NASA announced on X (formerly Twitter).

June 5: Starliner finally launches

The Starliner will launch on June 5. Boeing Space published a post on X at 11:44 a.m. confirming that the Starliner had reached a stable orbit and separated from the Atlas V rocket. From there, the spacecraft began firing its own engines as it continued to fly toward the space station, NASA said.

June 6: Starliner docks with the ISS

The next day, the Starliner docks with the forward port of the space station’s Harmony module at 1:34 p.m. EDT. The evening before, however, NASA had released an update revealing that two more helium leaks had been discovered on the spacecraft after the Starliner reached orbit.

June 9: NASA announces that astronauts will not return on the originally planned date

Although Wilmore and Williams were only supposed to spend a week on the space station, NASA announced on X that the Starliner and its two astronauts would likely land in the New Mexico desert no earlier than June 18. The space agency said the extra time on the space station was intended for the astronauts to assist with a spacewalk and to give engineers more time to complete systems checks on the Starliner.

June 14: Return of astronauts delayed again

The return has been postponed for a second time. The astronauts are now scheduled to undock from the space station on June 25 at the earliest and land at White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico on June 26, Boeing said in an update.

21 June: And again

Boeing and NASA have again postponed the return of Williams and Wilmore until July at the earliest. This time, the agencies are justifying this with “a series of planned spacewalks to the International Space Station while allowing mission teams time to review propulsion system data.”

July 10: Astronauts do not complain about their stay in space

Wilmore and Williams appear in a NASA broadcast from the space station. During separate press conferences, Williams says, “I’m not complaining, Butch is not complaining about us being here a few more weeks.” Meanwhile, scientists and engineers are conducting tests to better understand and resolve problems encountered during the Starliner’s launch and flight, including some misfiring engines and helium leaks.

July 25: NASA and Boeing do not yet announce a return date

NASA and Boeing said in a press conference that there is no official return date for the Starliner yet. However, NASA Commercial Crew Program Manager Steve Stich says: “We are making great progress.”

August: Astronauts work in the space station and plan their return home

Wilmore and Williams, both Navy test pilots before joining NASA, were scheduled to spend their limited time on the space station testing the Starliner spacecraft and its subsystems. Since their stay was extended indefinitely, the astronauts, both of whom had already traveled to space twice, helped the space station crew with other tasks.

August 24: Astronauts’ return planned for February 2025

NASA leadership announced on August 24 that Wilmore and Williams will have to remain on the ISS until February after a flight readiness review determined it was too risky for them to return to Earth on the Boeing spacecraft. They are scheduled to return aboard a SpaceX rocket scheduled to dock with the ISS in September.

September 6-7: Empty Starliner undocks from the ISS and returns to Earth

The ill-fated Starliner spacecraft undocked from the ISS without Wilmore and Williams on board and headed back to Earth shortly after midnight on Saturday, September 7, where it touched down in the New Mexico desert. Starliner landed by parachute and airbag at NASA’s White Sands Space Harbor facility in New Mexico. Boeing crews began recovering the spacecraft, which was to be returned to the Kennedy Space Center for evaluation.

Eric Lagatta covers breaking and trending news for USA TODAY. Reach him at [email protected]

Gabe Hauari is a national trending news reporter for USA TODAY. You can follow him on X. @GabeHauari or email him at [email protected].

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