NASA astronaut Nick Hague (left) and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov are scheduled to launch to the International Space Station as part of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 mission no earlier than 2:05 p.m. EDT Thursday, Sept.. 26 Credit: SpaceX
Coverage is set for NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, who are scheduled to launch no earlier than 2:05 p.m. EDT Thursday, Sept. 26, aboard NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 mission to the International Space Station.
Hague and Gorbunov are scheduled to arrive at approximately 1:30 p.m. EDT Saturday, Sept. 21, touching down at the Launch and Landing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
After landing, the crewmates will join NASA Kennedy leadership to make brief remarks and answer questions from the media. Additional participants include:
Kelvin Manning, deputy director, NASA Kennedy
Dana Hutcherson, deputy program manager, Commercial Crew Program, NASA Kennedy
Live coverage of the crew’s arrival will stream on NASA+ and the agency’s website. Learn how to stream NASA content through a variety of platforms, including social media.
The Crew-9 mission to the space station will be the first human spaceflight mission to launch from Space Launch Complex-40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. This is the ninth crew rotation mission with SpaceX to the orbiting laboratory under NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. The crew will spend approximately five months at the station, conducting more than 200 science and research demonstrations before returning in February 2025.
From right to left, NASA SpaceX Crew-9 members Nick Hague, commander, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, mission specialist, pose for an official crew portrait at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. Photo Credit: NASA/Josh Valcarel
Members of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 mission will spend the next two weeks in routine preflight quarantine at the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston ahead of their mission to the International Space Station.
NASA and SpaceX have shifted the Crew-9 launch to no earlier than Wednesday, Sept. 25, to complete prelaunch preparations and ensure separation between operations. Liftoff is targeted for 2:28 p.m. EDT from Space Launch Complex-40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft named Freedom. This is the first time a human spaceflight mission will launch from the pad. Additional launch opportunities are available on Thursday, Sept. 26, Friday, Sept. 27, and Saturday, Sept. 28.
NASA astronaut Nick Hague, commander, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, mission specialist, will remain in isolation to prevent exposure to any illnesses before they join the Expedition 72 crew at the space station. As part of the Crew-9 crew, Hague and Gorbunov will join NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, who arrived to the space station in June.
Hague and Gorbunov are set to arrive at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Friday, Sept. 20, where the pair will remain in quarantine at the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building until launch.
Crew-9 is the ninth crew rotation mission with SpaceX to the space station under NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. The crew will spend approximately five months at the orbiting laboratory conducting spacewalks, research demonstrations, and experiments before returning in February 2025.
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.
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 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.
The crew access arm retracts from Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft at Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida ahead of NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test on Wednesday, June 5, 2024. Photo credit: NASA Television
We’re just minutes away from liftoff of NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test that will send NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams to the International Space Station as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program.
At Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, the crew access arm has retracted on the crew access tower.
The crew access arm lines up with the hatch of Boeing’s Starliner capsule, and it’s designed to rotate and retract at various speeds. The arm provides entry and emergency egress for astronauts and technicians into and out of the spacecraft.
Liftoff of Boeing’s Starliner on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket remains on schedule for 10:52 a.m. EDT.
Boeing crews close the hatch to the Starliner capsule carrying NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams. Photo credit: NASA Television
Just about one hour remains ahead of liftoff of NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test to the International Space Station.
Communication checks with NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams are complete. The hatch is now closed on the Boeing Starliner spacecraft, named Calypso. Next up, a series of cabin leak checks and a cabin pressurization check will be completed.
For NASA missions to low Earth orbit, the Starliner capsule, with a diameter of 15 feet (4.56m), will hold four astronauts or a mix of crew and cargo.
NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore inside Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft ahead of launch on Wednesday, June 5, 2024. Photo credit: NASA Television
Inside Starliner for this mission is about 759 pounds of cargo, which includes food, clothing, exercise gear, medical supplies, photo and media equipment, vehicle supplies and tools, and other items. A thumb drive containing about 3,500 images of artwork from children in 35 states and 66 different countries is also set to launch aboard Starliner tonight.
Wilmore is flying with two gold rings he had made for his father and brother that resemble the U.S. Navy astronaut pilot wing pin. He also brought shirts from his alma maters, Tennessee Technological University and the University of Tennessee. Williams brought shirts from the U.S. Naval Academy and the Sunita L. Williams Elementary School in Needham, Massachusetts. She also has a diver pin and two dog tags from her Labrador retrievers.
At 10:52 a.m. EDT, a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket will launch the Starliner crew capsule from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Following a roughly 25-hour journey, Starliner will rendezvous and dock with the space station at 12:15 p.m. Thursday, June 6.
Watch live coverage of today’s mission on NASA+, NASA Television, the NASA app, YouTube, and the agency’s website. Learn how to stream NASA TV through a variety of platforms including social media.
NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test astronauts Suni Williams and a United Launch Alliance technician stand near the crew access arm at Space Launch Complex-41 at nearby Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Wednesday, June 5, 2024. Photo credit: NASA Television
We’re less than three hours away from NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams heading to the International Space Station.
Wilmore and Williams just arrived at the crew access tower at Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida and will soon head into the White Room. The environmentally controlled chamber at the outer end of the access arm platform is where astronauts prepare to enter Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft.
The astronauts also made some last minute phone calls before launch.
While in the White Room, the crew will make any last-minute adjustments before launch. Technicians also will complete a series of checkouts before Wilmore enters the capsule, followed by Williams.
The Starliner spacecraft is set to launch at 10:52 a.m. EDT on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. Weather continues to hold at 90% chance of favorable conditions for liftoff.
Follow the mission blog for the most up-to-date operations as launch milestones occur. Watch NASA’s mission coverage on NASA+, NASA Television, the NASA app, YouTube, and the agency’s website. Learn how to stream NASA TV through a variety of platforms including social media.
