NASA Flight Test Readiness Review Concludes, Teleconference to Follow

Mission managers with NASA, Boeing, and United Launch Alliance gather on Thursday, April 25, 2024, at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida to complete a Flight Test Readiness Review for NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test. As part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program, NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams are the first to launch to the International Space Station aboard Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft atop an Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Liftoff is scheduled for 10:34 p.m. ET on Monday, May 6. Photo credit: NASA/Mike Chambers

NASA concluded its Flight Test Readiness Review for the agency’s Boeing Crew Flight Test and teams are proceeding toward a planned launch at 10:34 p.m. EDT on Monday, May 6, to the International Space Station. The mission will transport NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams to and from the space station of the first flight with crew to certify the Starliner and its system for regular crew rotation missions. 

At 4:30 p.m., NASA will host a media teleconference (no less than one hour following completion of the readiness review) with the following participants:  

  • Jim Free, NASA associate administrator 
  • Ken Bowersox, associate administrator, NASA’s Space Operations Mission Directorate 
  • Steve Stich, manager, NASA’s Commercial Crew Program 
  • Dana Weigel, manager, NASA’s International Space Station Program 
  • Mark Nappi, vice president and manager, Boeing Commercial Crew Program
  • Emily Nelson, NASA chief flight director

The media teleconference will air live on the agency’s website. 

Next up is a mission dress rehearsal on Friday, April 26, for NASA, Boeing, and ULA (United Launch Alliance). Wilmore and Williams, commander and pilot, will mimic launch day operations. The astronauts load in their spacesuits, walk out of the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building, and get into Boeing’s Astrovan to travel to the spacecraft. Teams will practice countdown scenarios, prep Starliner’s crew module for flight, close the hatch, and conduct readiness polls of managers and engineers. 

Wilmore and Williams are the first to launch aboard Boeing’s Starliner on an Atlas V rocket. The astronauts will spend about a week at the orbiting laboratory before the crew capsule makes a parachute and airbag-assisted landing in the southwestern United States. 

After successful completion of the mission, NASA will begin the final process of certifying Starliner and its systems for crewed rotation missions to the space station. The Starliner capsule, with a diameter of 15 feet (4.56m) and the capability to steer automatically or manually, will carry four astronauts, or a mix of crew and cargo, for NASA missions to low Earth orbit. 

Learn more about NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test by following the mission blog, the commercial crew blog, @commercial_crew on X, and commercial crew on Facebook. 

Dreams Become Reality for NASA’s Boeing Flight Test Crew

NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams hug after arriving at the Launch and Landing Facility at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Thursday, April 25, 2024. Photo credit: NASA/Chris Stevens

Momentum is building for NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test launch, scheduled for Monday, May 6, 2024.

NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams arrived in a T-38 jet April 25 at the Launch and Landing Facility at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida after a short flight from Ellington Field near NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.

NASA leaders welcomed Wilmore and Williams and held a short news conference.

“Our hearts and souls are in this spacecraft and a little part of us will be lifting off with Butch and Suni,” said NASA’s Commercial Crew Program Deputy Manager Dana Hutcherson, who has been with the program for 13 years.

Wilmore and Williams are targeting 10:34 p.m. EDT Monday, May 6, for launch aboard Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft and ULA’s (United Launch Alliance) Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex-41 at nearby Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. This will be the first crewed flight of Starliner for NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.

Click below to watch the earlier broadcast of the welcome ceremony.

NASA, Boeing Crew Lands in Florida for Starliner Mission

NASA, Boeing Crew Flight Test Crew Butch Wilmore (left), and Suni Williams (right) arrive in Florida on Thursday, April 25, 2024. Photo credit: NASA

NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams landed April 25, at the Launch and Landing Facility at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida after a short flight from Ellington Field near NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. Paying homage to their piloting days as retired U.S. Navy captains, they flew to Kennedy in a T-38 jet. 

As part of NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test, Wilmore and Williams are the first to launch aboard the company’s Starliner spacecraft on a ULA (United Launch Alliance) Atlas V rocket to the International Space Station. 

Shortly after 1 p.m. EDT, NASA leaders will hold a brief welcome ceremony with the following participants:

  • Jennifer Kunz, associate director, NASA Kennedy 
  • Dana Hutcherson, deputy manager, NASA’s Commercial Crew Program 
  • NASA astronaut Butch Wilmore 
  • NASA astronaut Suni Williams

The welcome ceremony will air live 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.  

Meanwhile, NASA, Boeing, and ULA representatives are participating in the agency’s Flight Test Readiness Review at NASA Kennedy. The two-day event, which is scheduled to conclude April 25, verifies the mission readiness, including all systems, facilities, and teams that will support the launch.  

Liftoff is scheduled for 10:34 p.m. Monday, May 6, from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The astronauts will spend about a week at the orbiting laboratory before the crew capsule makes a parachute and airbag-assisted landing in the southwestern United States. 

Learn more about NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test by following the mission blog, the commercial crew blog, @commercial_crew on X, and commercial crew on Facebook. 

NASA, Boeing Crew Fly Jet to Florida for Starliner Launch

Photo of NASA, Boeing Crew Test astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams
Boeing Crew Flight Test astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams in T-38 pre-flight activities at Ellington Field on Tuesday, August 16, 2022. Photo credit: NASA/Robert Markowitz

The two NASA astronauts that will fly aboard a new spacecraft for the first time to the International Space Station are on their way on Thursday to the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida to begin final launch preparations. 

NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams are targeting 10:34 p.m. EDT Monday, May 6, for launch of the agency’s Boeing Crew Flight Test from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. 

As retired U.S. Navy captains, Wilmore and Williams are flying on a T-38 jet from Ellington Field near NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston for the short flight to Kennedy’s Launch and Landing Facility. 

At 1 p.m., NASA will host a crew arrival event at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, with the following participants:

  • Jennifer Kunz, associate director, NASA Kennedy 
  • Dana Hutcherson, deputy manager, NASA’s Commercial Crew Program 
  • NASA astronaut Butch Wilmore 
  • NASA astronaut Suni Williams

The arrival will air live 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. 

Following launch, the astronauts will spend about a week at the orbiting laboratory before the crew capsule makes a parachute and airbag-assisted landing in the southwestern United States. 

Learn more about NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test by following the mission blog, the commercial crew blog, @commercial_crew on X, and commercial crew on Facebook.

NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test Astronauts Enter Quarantine for Mission

NASA's Boeing Crew Flight Test astronauts Suni Williams (left) and Butch Wilmore (right) pose for photo ahead of May 6 flight to the International Space Station
The official crew portrait for NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test. Left is Suni Williams, who will serve as the pilot, and to the right is Barry “Butch” Wilmore, spacecraft commander. Photo credit: NASA

NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, who are set to launch to the International Space Station on Monday, May 6, entered pre-flight quarantine in preparation for the agency’s Boeing Crew Flight Test mission.

Flight crew health stabilization is a standard process ahead of any human spaceflight mission to ensure the health and safety of the crew prior to liftoff, as well as prevent sickness of the astronauts at the space station. During quarantine, astronaut contact is limited, and most interactions are remote – although family and some launch team members also may be in quarantine or cleared before interacting with the crew.

Wilmore and Williams will launch aboard Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft on a ULA (United Launch Alliance) Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. The duo will make history as the first people to fly on the Starliner spacecraft.

Wilmore and Williams will quarantine at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston before traveling to the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida no earlier than Thursday, April 25, where they’ll remain in quarantine until launch.

Meanwhile, teams also are preparing for the Flight Test Readiness Review, which will take place over the course of two days – Wednesday, April 24, and April 25. That review brings together teams from NASA, Boeing, ULA, and its international partners to verify mission readiness including all systems, facilities, and teams that will support the end-to-end test of the Starliner.

Following a successful flight test, NASA will begin certifying the Starliner system for regular crew rotation missions to space station for the agency.

Launch is scheduled no earlier than 10:34 p.m. EDT May 6.

Learn more about NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test by following the mission blog, the commercial crew blog, @commercial_crew on X, and commercial crew on Facebook.

Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_station and ISS_Research on X, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test Begins Stacking Operations

Photo of Boeing's Starliner that will take NASA astronauts to the International Space Station In May 2024.
Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft, set to carry NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams on the agency’s Boeing Crew Flight Test to the International Space Station, passes in front of the iconic Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Tuesday, April 16, 2024. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
Boeing's Starliner spacecraft is lifted and attached to a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket
Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft, set to carry NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams on the agency’s Boeing Crew Flight Test to the International Space Station, is lifted and stacked on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket at the company’s Vertical Integration Facility at Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida Tuesday, April 16, 2024. Photo credit: Boeing

NASA teams joined Boeing on April 16 to move the Starliner spacecraft out of the company’s Commercial Crew and Cargo Processing Facility at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida to the launch site.

Technicians lifted and connected the spacecraft to the top of a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket at the Vertical Integration Facility at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station ahead of NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test mission.

NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams are the first to launch aboard Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft to the International Space Station. Liftoff is scheduled for no earlier than 10:34 p.m. EDT Monday, May 6, from Cape Canaveral’s Space Launch Complex-41. The astronauts will spend about a week at the orbiting laboratory before the crew capsule makes a parachute and airbag-assisted landing in the southwestern United States.

After successful completion of the mission, NASA will begin the final process of certifying Starliner and its systems for crewed rotation missions to the space station.

Wilmore and Williams will wrap up flight preparations in Houston and arrive at NASA Kennedy no earlier than Thursday, April 25.

Learn more about the NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test by following the mission  blog, the commercial crew blog, @commercial_crew on X, and commercial crew on Facebook.

NASA, Boeing Prep Starliner to Join Rocket Ahead of Crew Flight Test

The Boeing CST-100 Starliner spacecraft is lifted at the Vertical Integration Facility at Space Launch Complex-41 at Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on May 4, 2022. Photo credit: NASA/Frank Michaux

The spacecraft set to carry two NASA astronauts on the agency’s Boeing Crew Flight Test to the International Space Station is ready to move from its production facility to the launch site. Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft will roll out of the Commercial Crew and Cargo Processing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida Tuesday, April 16, to the Vertical Integration Facility at nearby Cape Canaveral Space Force Station to connect to the United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket.

The crewed flight test is targeting launch no earlier than 10:34 p.m. Monday, May 6 from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral. NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams will fly aboard Starliner and will dock at the space station’s forward port of the Harmony module. The duo will spend about a week at the orbiting laboratory before Starliner makes a parachute and airbag-assisted landing in the southwestern United States.

After successful completion of the mission, NASA will begin the final process of certifying Starliner and its systems for crewed rotation missions to the space station. The Starliner capsule, with a diameter of 15 feet (4.56m) and the capability to steer automatically or manually, will carry four astronauts, or a mix of crew and cargo, for NASA missions to low Earth orbit.

Learn more about NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test by following the mission blog, the commercial crew blog, @commercial_crew on X, and commercial crew on Facebook.

NASA, Boeing Update Launch Date for Starliner’s First Astronaut Flight

The Boeing CST-100 Starliner spacecraft is lifted at the Vertical Integration Facility at Space Launch Complex-41 at Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on May 4, 2022. Photo credit: NASA/Frank Michaux

Following a review of the International Space Station operations, NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test now is targeting no earlier than Monday, May 6, for Starliner’s first launch with astronauts to the orbital complex. The date adjustment optimizes space station schedule of activities planned toward the end of April, including a cargo spacecraft undocking and a crew spacecraft port relocation required for Starliner docking. NASA and Boeing also are performing prelaunch closeout work and completing final certification for flight.

Starliner will carry NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore to the space station for a docking to the forward port of the Harmony module. Ahead of Starliner’s launch, NASA’s SpaceX Crew-8 crewmates will board the Dragon spacecraft, currently docked to the forward port, for a relocation to the zenith port of Harmony to allow for Starliner docking. The date shift also allows additional time for the crew aboard the microgravity laboratory to complete science and cargo logistics ahead of the departure of the Dragon cargo spacecraft.

As part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program, Starliner will launch on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Williams and Wilmore will spend about a week docked to the space station ahead of a return to Earth in the western United States. The flight test will help NASA verify whether the Starliner system is ready to fly regular crew rotation missions to space station for the agency.

NASA’s SpaceX CRS-30: Liftoff at 4:55 p.m. EDT

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket soars upward after its liftoff from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida at 4:55 p.m. EDT on Thursday, March 21, on the company’s 30th Commercial Resupply Services mission for the agency to the International Space Station. The spacecraft is expected to spend about a month attached to the orbiting outpost before it returns to Earth with research and return cargo, splashing down off the coast of Florida. Photo credit: NASA/Glenn Benson

A SpaceX Dragon launched on the company’s Falcon 9 rocket at 4:55 p.m. EDT from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, carrying more than 6,000 pounds of research, hardware, and supplies to the International Space Station.

NASA+, NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agency’s website continue to provide live coverage of the ascent. About 12 minutes after launch, Dragon will separate from the Falcon 9 rocket’s second stage, open its nosecone, and begin a carefully choreographed series of thruster firings to reach the space station

The spacecraft is on track to arrive at the International Space Station on Saturday, March 23, with an expected docking of the cargo spacecraft about 7:30 a.m. EDT. Watch live coverage  of the arrival on NASA+, NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agency’s website.

When it arrives to the space station, Dragon will dock to the station’s Harmony module. NASA astronauts Loral O’Hara and Michael Barratt will monitor the arrival of the spacecraft.

Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_station and @ISS_Research on X as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

NASA’s SpaceX CRS-30: Launch Coverage Underway

SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft on Space Launch Complex 40 at night
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, with the company’s Dragon spacecraft atop, stands in a vertical position at Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on Tuesday, March 19, 2024, in preparation for the 30th commercial resupply services launch to the International Space Station. NASA and partner research flying aboard the mission includes a look at plant metabolism in space and a set of new sensors for free-flying Astrobee robots to provide 3D mapping capabilities. Liftoff is scheduled for 4:55 p.m. EDT on Thursday, March 21, 2024. Photo credit: SpaceX

New research and technology demonstrations for NASA are scheduled to launch aboard the agency’s SpaceX 30th commercial resupply services mission to the International Space Station at 4:55 EDT from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

Coverage of launch and docking activities will air live 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.

Full mission timeline is as follows (all times Eastern and subject to change based on operations):

COUNTDOWN
Hour/Min/Sec Events
00:38:00       SpaceX Launch Director verifies go for propellant load
00:35:00       RP-1 (rocket grade kerosene) loading begins
00:35:00       1st stage LOX (liquid oxygen) loading begins
00:16:00       2nd stage LOX loading begins
00:07:00       Falcon 9 begins pre-launch engine chill
00:05:00       Dragon transitions to internal power
00:01:00       Command flight computer to begin final prelaunch checks
00:01:00       Propellant tanks pressurize for flight
00:00:45       SpaceX Launch Director verifies go for launch
00:00:03       Engine controller commands engine ignition sequence to start
00:00:00       Falcon 9 liftoff

 LAUNCH AND DRAGON DEPLOYMENT
Hour/Min/Sec Events
00:00:58       Max Q (moment of peak mechanical stress on the rocket)
00:02:19       1st stage main engine cutoff (MECO)
00:02:22       1st and 2nd stages separate
00:02:29       2nd stage engine starts
00:02:32       Boostback Burn Starts
00:03:24       Boostback Burn Ends
00:06:20       1st stage entry burn starts
00:06:40       1st stage entry burn ends
00:07:26       1st stage landing burn starts
00:07:50       1st stage landing
00:08:35       2nd stage engine cutoff (SECO-1)
00:11:48       Dragon separates from 2nd stage
00:12:40       Dragon nosecone open sequence begins

SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft will carry more than 6,000 pounds of cargo, including new science investigations, supplies, and equipment to the international crew aboard the orbiting laboratory. NASA and its partners will send studies aboard the mission on plant metabolism in space and a set of new sensors for free-flying Astrobee robots to provide 3D mapping capabilities. Other research includes a fluid physics study that could benefit solar cell technology and a university project from CSA (Canadian Space Agency) that will monitor sea ice and ocean conditions.

Arrival at the station is scheduled for approximately 7:30 a.m. Saturday, March 23. The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft will dock autonomously to the zenith port of the station’s Harmony module.

Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_station and @ISS_Research on X as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.