"This adjustment allows more time for mission managers to finalize return planning for the agency’s Boeing Crew Flight Test currently docked to the orbiting laboratory," NASA said in an update this afternoon .
Crew Flight Test (CFT) is the first-ever astronaut mission of Boeing's new Starliner capsule. It launched June 5 , carrying NASA's Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore to the ISS for a planned weeklong stay.
Starliner is still up there, however. The capsule experienced several issues on its way to the orbiting lab — most notably, the failure of five of its 28 reaction control system thrusters. CFT team members have been studying the problem ever since, trying to determine if and when Starliner can safely return Williams and Wilmore to Earth .
Boeing's Starliner docked at the International Space Station during Crew Flight Test in July 2024. (Image credit: NASA)
"NASA and Boeing continue to evaluate the spacecraft's readiness, and no decisions have been made regarding Starliner's return," NASA officials said in today's update.
We may get more clarity on Wednesday (Aug. 7): NASA will hold a press conference at 12:30 p.m. EDT (1630 GMT) "with agency leadership to discuss ongoing operations, including NASA's Crew-9, Crew-8, and Crew Flight Test missions."
NASA's SpaceX Crew-9 members stand in front of a Falcon 9 first-stage booster at SpaceX’s HangarX facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. (Image credit: NASA/JSC) RELATED STORIES:
SpaceX's Crew-8 flight is gearing up to return to Earth; it arrived at the ISS in early March, delivering four astronauts to the orbiting lab for a roughly six-month stay.
The Crew-9 astronauts are commander Zena Cardman, pilot Nick Hague, mission specialist Stephanie Wilson and mission specialist Alexsandr Gorbunov. Cardman, Hague and Wilson are NASA astronauts, whereas Gorbunov represents Russia's space agency, Roscosmos .
Get updates delivered to you daily. Free and customizable.
It’s essential to note our commitment to transparency:
Our Terms of Use acknowledge that our services may not always be error-free, and our Community Standards emphasize our discretion in enforcing policies. As a platform hosting over 100,000 pieces of content published daily, we cannot pre-vet content, but we strive to foster a dynamic environment for free expression and robust discourse through safety guardrails of human and AI moderation.
Comments / 0