NASA now aiming to launch Starliner astronauts flight next month

By Trevor Mogg May 26, 2024

The Starliner on the launchpad atop an Atlas V rocket. — The Starliner sits on the launchpad atop an Atlas V rocket. NASA

After a series of recent delays, NASA and Boeing Space are now aiming to perform the first crewed launch of the Starliner spacecraft on Saturday, June 1.

The decision to target June follows a series of launch postponements over the last month. On May 6, for example, a launch attempt from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida was called off with just two hours left on the countdown clock after an issue was found with a valve on the Centaur upper stage of United Launch Alliance’s (ULA) Atlas V rocket.

Recommended Videos

As engineers worked on fixing the problem in the days that followed, a small helium leak was discovered on the Starliner, prompting NASA and Boeing to scrap a new launch target of May 17.

Two more target dates have also slipped by and NASA said it’s now aiming to launch NASA astronauts Bob Wilmore and Suni Williams on the Starliner at 12:25 p.m. this coming Saturday.

“There has been a great deal of exceptional analysis and testing over the last two weeks by the joint NASA, Boeing, and ULA teams to replace the Centaur Self Regulating Valve and troubleshoot the Starliner Service Module helium manifold leak,” Steve Stich, manager of the NASA Commercial Crew Program, said in a post on the space agency’s website.

Stich added: “It has been important that we take our time to understand all the complexities of each issue, including the redundant capabilities of the Starliner propulsion system and any implications to our Interim Human Rating Certification.”

While waiting for the much-anticipated mission, Wilmore and Williams are continuing to practice aboard Starliner simulators. The two astronauts remain quarantined in Houston and will fly back to Kennedy in the coming days.

The Starliner has been years in development and up until now has flown only twice. The first test mission in 2019 ended when the capsule failed to reach the correct orbit to take it to the International Space Station (ISS). The mission surfaced a number of software problems that had to be resolved.

The second flight took place in 2022 and managed to reach the ISS. Following more work to improve the Starliner, it’s now ready to carry its first astronauts to orbit.

NASA wants to use the Starliner as a second option for crewed flights to the ISS alongside SpaceX’s Crew Dragon, which has been performing astronaut flights since 2020.

Topics

Tech News

Contributing Editor

Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…

Space

NASA reveals date for attempted return flight of troubled Starliner

Boeing's Starliner spacecraft docked at the space station.

NASA is targeting Friday, September 6, for the return flight of Boeing Space’s troubled Starliner spacecraft, the agency revealed on Thursday.

The vehicle will come home from the International Space Station (ISS) nearly three months later than originally planned and without the crew that it arrived with. The flight, the outcome of which could determine the Starliner’s future, is expected to take about six hours, NASA said in a blog post on Thursday.

Space

Starliner astronauts to return to Earth in SpaceX Dragon next year

NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test astronauts (from top) Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams pose on June 13, 2024 for a portrait inside the vestibule between the forward port on the International Space Station’s Harmony module and Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft.

Two NASA astronauts who have been stuck in orbit for over two months after the Boeing Starliner spacecraft they traveled in developed a fault on the outward journey will return to Earth in a SpaceX Dragon craft next year. Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams were aboard the Starliner for what was supposed to be a one-week test flight, but issues with the craft's thrusters have forced it to remain docked at the International Space Station for testing. Now, the Starliner will return home uncrewed, and the astronauts will stay on the station to complete a six-month stint there.

This is a major setback for both NASA and Boeing, as NASA has repeatedly stressed its desire for multiple commercial options for travel to the space station in addition to the SpaceX Dragon. But engineers have struggled to replicate and solve the issues with the Starliner from the ground, and the agency says it is prioritizing the safety of Wilmore and Williams by keeping them aboard the station.

Space

NASA to announce decision about stuck Starliner astronauts tomorrow

Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft that launched NASA’s Crew Flight Test astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams to the International Space Station is pictured docked to the Harmony module’s forward port on Wednesday, July 3, 2024.

NASA is holding a press conference Saturday, August 24, to announce a decision on how to bring home two astronauts who have been stuck on the International Space Station.

After been more than two months since the Boeing Starliner launched on what was supposed to be a one-week mission. Following both helium leaks (which were known about before the launch) and problems with the thrusters (which weren't), the Starliner's two test pilots -- NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams -- have stayed aboard the International Space Station as NASA and Boeing officials assess if and when it will be safe for them to travel back to Earth.