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 ShiflettBoeing’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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The SpaceX Dragon Endurance spacecraft is seen as it splashes down in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Pensacola, Florida, at 5:47 a.m. EDT, returning Crew-7 to Earth. Photo credit: NASA TV.
NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Andreas Mogensen, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Satoshi Furukawa, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov splashed down safely in the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Pensacola, Florida, at 5:47 a.m. EDT, completing a six-month science mission spent aboard the International Space Station.
Teams on the SpaceX recovery ship, including two fast boats, now are in the process of securing Dragon and ensuring the spacecraft is safe for recovery. As the fast boat teams complete their work, the recovery ship will move into position to hoist Dragon onto the main deck with the Crew-7 crew members inside. Once on the main deck, the crew will be taken out of the spacecraft and undergo medical checks before a short helicopter ride to board a plane for NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.
NASA, SpaceX, and international partner representatives will hold a media teleconference later this morning, at 7 a.m. EDT, to discuss the Crew-7 mission and the crew’s return to Earth. The teleconference will be streamed live on NASA’s YouTube channel. Participants include:
Steve Stich, manager, NASA’s Commercial Crew Program
Jeff Arend, manager for systems engineering and integration, NASA’s International Space Station Office
Benji Reed, senior director, Human Spaceflight Programs, SpaceX
Eric van der Wal, Houston office team leader, ESA
Hiroshi Sasaki, vice president for human spaceflight and exploration, JAXA
NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli is seen inside the SpaceX Dragon capsule as NASA’s SpaceX Crew-7 crew members return to Earth on March 12, 2024. Next to her is ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Andreas Mogensen. Dragon is scheduled to splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Pensacola, Florida, at 5:47 a.m. EDT. Photo credit: NASA TV
The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft, carrying NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Andreas Mogensen, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Satoshi Furukawa, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov on their return to Earth after 199 days in space, has completed its deorbit burn as expected ahead of splashdown just a little under an hour away.
During its journey home, Dragon will be visible across parts of the Midwest as it prepares for a splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Pensacola, Florida, at 5:47 a.m. EDT. All times are approximate:
5:36 a.m. over southwest Nebraska
5:37 a.m. over the heart of Kansas
5:38 a.m. over northeast Oklahoma
5:39 a.m. over central Arkansas with a low inclination view over parts of northeast Texas
5:40 a.m. over central Mississippi
5:41 a.m. over the southeast/southwest border of Mississippi/Alabama
~5:41 a.m. over Pensacola, Florida, and out over the Gulf
Four minutes before splashdown, the drogue parachutes will deploy at about 18,000 feet in altitude while Dragon is moving approximately 350 miles per hour. Less than a minute later, the main parachutes will deploy at about 6,000 feet in altitude while the spacecraft is moving approximately 119 miles per hour.
Live coverage on NASA+, NASA TV, the NASA app and the agency’s website will continue until the crew is recovered from the spacecraft.
NASA is providing live coverage as Crew-7 crew members NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Andreas Mogensen, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Satoshi Furukawa, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov return to Earth inside the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft. The spacecraft, named Endurance, is scheduled to splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Pensacola, Florida, at about 5:47 a.m. EDT. Recovery forces are taking positions in the recovery zone.
The deorbit burn is scheduled to start at 4:56 a.m. EDT and will last approximately 13 minutes.
SpaceX’s Dragon Endurance spacecraft carrying the Crew-7 quartet approaches the International Space Station for docking on August 27, 2023, as it soared 261 miles above the Atlantic Ocean. Photo credit: NASA
The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft with NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Andreas Mogensen, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Satoshi Furukawa, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov inside undocked from the forward-facing port of the International Space Station’s Harmony module at 11:20 a.m. EDT to complete a nearly six-month science mission.
NASA coverage of Crew-7’s return will continue with audio only, and full coverage will resume at the start of the splashdown broadcast. Real-time audio between Crew-7 and flight controllers at NASA’s Mission Audio stream will remain available and includes conversations with astronauts aboard the space station and a live video feed from the orbiting laboratory.
NASA TV coverage will resume at 4:30 a.m. Tuesday until Dragon splashes down at approximately 5:50 a.m. on Tuesday, March 12, off the coast of Florida and Crew-7 members are recovered.
NASA’s SpaceX Crew-7 mission launched Aug. 26, 2023, on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Four Expedition 70 crewmates pose in the pressure suits they will wear when they return to Earth aboard the SpaceX Dragon “Endurance” spacecraft. From left are, Roscosmos cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Andreas Mohgensen, NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli, and JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Satoshi Furukawa. The quartet arrived at the International Space Station on Aug. 27, 2023, as SpaceX Crew-7 members aboard Dragon and will splash down off the coast of Florida inside the same spacecraft completing a six-and-a-half-month space research mission. Photo credit: NASA
At 9:15 a.m. EDT, the hatch closed between the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft and the International Space Station in preparation for undocking and return to Earth of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-7 mission with NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Andreas Mogensen, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Satoshi Furukawa, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov.
NASA+, NASA TV, the NASA app and the agency’s website will air live coverage beginning at 11 a.m., for undocking scheduled at 11:20 a.m. Following conclusion of undocking coverage, NASA coverage of Crew-7’s return will continue with audio only, and full coverage will resume at the start of the splashdown broadcast at 4:30 a.m. EDT Tuesday. Real-time audio between Crew-7 and flight controllers at NASA’s Mission Audio stream will remain available.
