posted 06-05-2024 10:32 AM               

Boeing Starliner launches with astronauts on history-making first crew flight test

For only the sixth time in history, NASA astronauts have reached Earth orbit aboard a new type of American spacecraft.

Barry "Butch" Wilmore and Sunita "Suni" Williams on Wednesday (June 5) lifted off on Boeing's first CST-100 Starliner commercial spacecraft to fly with humans. The Crew Flight Test (CFT) will test the capsule's systems on a week-long mission to and from the International Space Station. If successful, the mission will pave the way for future Starliner flights that will launch and return station expedition crews.

posted 06-05-2024 06:36 PM               

Starliner Manual Piloting Demonstrations Successful

On the way to the International Space Station, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams tested out a unique capability of Boeing's Starliner spacecraft on orbit – manual piloting. Although the spacecraft is usually autonomous, the crew used the hand controller to point and aim the spacecraft during about two hours of free-flight demonstrations.

"We've also spun out the manual maneuvering and it is precise, much more so than even the simulator," said Wilmore, CFT commander. "Stopping exactly on a number you want to stop on, the precision is pretty amazing."

During a far-field demo, they pointed Starliner's nose toward the Earth so that its communications antenna on the on the back of the Service Module was pointed at the TDRS satellites. They then moved the Starliner so its solar array pointed at the sun to show they could charge the internal batteries, if ever needed.

Next, they swung Starliner around and pointed the nose away from Earth to look at the stars. This was to show they can manually use the star trackers in the VESTA system to establish their attitude in space in case all three flight computers were to ever go out or be turned off at the same time.

Then, they manually sped Starliner up and then slowed it down, which slightly raised and then lowered their orbit. This was to show that the crew could manually break away from the space station orbit during rendezvous, if necessary.

Finally, the crew manually pointed Starliner in the orientation needed for entry into the Earth's atmosphere, just in case they have to do that manually. During that maneuver, they again pointed the solar array at the sun to try a different method of confirming they can manually charge the batteries.

There is more manual piloting to come for this "pilot's spacecraft" with Wilmore and Williams on docking day, June 6.

posted 06-06-2024 07:25 AM               

Crew Prepares for Rendezvous and Docking

The Crew Flight Test crew is getting ready for the rendezvous and docking. Today (June 6), mission managers gave the "go" for the Starliner spacecraft to proceed with International Space Station (ISS) integrated operations at 12:15 p.m. EDT after a review of the vehicle's status and continued monitoring of the helium system.

Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams are now preparing Starliner for near-field rendezvous and docking operations. As Starliner nears the ISS and its VESTA cameras identify the orbital lab, the astronauts don their spacesuits and begin what's known as near-field operations.

Starliner's VESTA system will be the first to see the ISS, first as a distant point of light. The spacecraft will then use a combination of its visual sensors, GPS and inertial navigation systems to continue chasing the station. Rendezvous begins with Starliner nearing the station from below, then a series of inbound flyaround maneuvers place the capsule in front of the ISS for its docking approach.

Commander Wilmore will exercise another set of manual piloting demonstrations, which will be similar to those conducted earlier in flight. After that, the mission management team will give a "go" for Starliner to enter the ISS's Keep Out Sphere, and an automated final docking attempt will begin.

posted 06-06-2024 11:41 AM               

Starliner docks to space station

NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams aboard Boeing's Starliner spacecraft successfully docked to the International Space Station on Thursday (June 6) at 1:34 p.m. EDT (1734 GMT).

As Starliner began its approach to the station, five reaction control system thrusters failed off during flight. Mission teams performed a series of hot-fire tests which re-enabled four of the thrusters while the crew manually piloted the spacecraft at the station's 200-meter hold point.

After re-selecting four of the thrusters, Starliner had the fault tolerance required to approach the space station for docking. At the 10-meter hold point, the mission team completed system readiness evaluations and proceeded with docking.

posted 06-08-2024 04:01 PM               

Starliner Flight Day 3 Activities

NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams continue to settle into the pace of the International Space Station (ISS) after flying Boeing's Starliner spacecraft, named Calypso, to the orbital complex.

June 8 began with Boeing engineers and flight control teams powering the spacecraft down and back up ahead of a scheduled "safe haven" demonstration. The ability to shelter in the spacecraft or depart the station quickly is a requirement of any visiting crew vehicle. In the "safe haven" configuration, Starliner's own systems would be used to provide air and other essentials to astronauts during a contingency. Expedition crews occasionally move into their spacecraft if space debris is predicted to pass by or if solar radiation is higher than usual.

"We practiced a safe haven event where we would use this as a lifeboat. If something, say a conjunction or something was about to intercede with the space station, some space debris, then we would all go scurry to our spacecraft and hunker down and hopefully everything passes. We went through that process today, closing the hatches, everything, and it was quite a successful event," said Wilmore while giving a tour of Calypso during a live downlink event.

In a test of what it would be like to live and work inside Starliner with additional crew members, Wilmore and Williams were joined by Matthew Dominick and Tracy Caldwell Dyson for a number of hours. Together, they assessed air circulation, sleeping arrangements, privacy space, windows, and spacesuit donning, doffing and storage.

Data was also collected by Starliner as the space station received a re-boost from Northrop Grumman's NG-20 Cygnus spacecraft, an operational activity that will occur regularly on future long-duration missions.

Wilmore and Williams then conducted a bit of weekend housekeeping, cleaning up the spacecraft that they occupied for about 30 hours from pre-launch to docking.

Finally, Starliner was again powered down to enter quiescent mode – another critical capability for future long-duration missions. It will be powered back on June 9 for an undock systems checkout before going back into and remaining quiescent until the pre-undock power up.

All this follows a busy June 7, when Wilmore and Williams worked with ISS crew members to unpack cargo, including a late add – a pump for the station's Urine Processing Assembly, which is now back in full operation.

For test pilots like Wilmore and Williams, who both graduated from the U.S. Navy's test pilot school before joining NASA's astronaut corps, data collection and precise evaluation is the normal routine for learning about a new vehicle whether it be a high-performance aircraft or sophisticated spacecraft.

posted 06-09-2024 04:03 PM               

Starliner Flight Day 4 Activities

NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams continue testing and evaluating the Starliner spacecraft while docked to the International Space Station, a stay that will be extended by a few days.

Ahead of turning their attention to space station support, the crew worked in partnership with Boeing engineers and flight control teams on the ground to efficiently tick through more flight test objectives and operational capability checkouts of the spacecraft.

On June 9, Wilmore and Williams performed docked space-to-space audio checks, installed a window cover designed for long-duration missions, and performed a dry run of undock vehicle power up and propulsion system checkout procedures. Starliner's Service Module batteries were also checked out and are fully charged for the next leg of the Crew Flight Test journey – returning to Earth in the southwest United States.

The crew was informed by CAPCOM Neal Nagata that mission managers are now targeting Starliner's landing for no earlier than June 18. This paves the way for the crew to support additional station activities, such as the upcoming spacewalk on June 13, while engineers complete Starliner systems checkouts.

On June 10, the crew will participate in a number of public outreach events that will be carried live on NASA TV.

posted 06-10-2024 04:06 PM               

Starliner Flight Day 5 Activities

Starliner has entered a quiescent state and will remain in a minimal power mode until it’s time to fully power back up and undock from the International Space Station to bring NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams home. Meanwhile, teams on the ground have been reviewing vehicle system performance, as well as flight test objectives and operational capability checkouts achieved.

On June 10, the crew got to work supporting space station operations. After doing their daily exercises and health checks, Wilmore worked on a computer connected to the Microgravity Science Glovebox and Williams installed hardware in the Solid Fuel Ignition and Extinction chamber, in support of a space fire investigation.

Wilmore and Williams also began sharing their journey with the public from space during three in-flight events.

• Students from the Sunita L. Williams elementary school in Needham, Mass. brought their questions to Williams, Wilmore and Expedition 71 crew members.

• NASA leaders Administrator Bill Nelson, Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy, Associate Administrator Jim Free and Johnson Space Center Director Vanessa Wyche engaged with the crew

• Chirag Parikh, executive secretary of the U.S. National Space Council, asked the crew questions submitted by children throughout the United States

posted 06-11-2024 04:46 PM               

Starliner Flight Day 6 Activities

Crew Flight Test (CFT) Commander Butch Wilmore and Pilot Suni Williams continued supporting International Space Station activities on June 11, having worked through all Starliner flight test objectives and operational capability checkouts with the exception of those associated with the next phase of flight.

"Our experienced test pilots have been overwhelmingly positive of their flight on Starliner, and we can't wait to learn more from them and the flight data to continue improving the vehicle," said Mark Nappi, vice president and program manager, Boeing's Commercial Crew Program.

Wilmore and Williams also spent Tuesday working on biomedical activities and gene sequence training. Wilmore took an inventory of the Human Research Facility checking items such as blood tube kits, saliva sample packs, and gloves. Williams studied procedures to collect microbe samples, extract their DNA, and sequence their genes to learn how to identify bacteria and fungi living in station water systems.

Meanwhile, the integrated NASA-Boeing Starliner Mission Management Team (SMMT) is monitoring the overall health of the spacecraft and adhering to mission flight rules.

Wilmore and Williams continued to share their experiences with the public, including Tennessee Tech University in Cookeville, Tenn.

They also made a special call to colleagues who support their flight test back on Earth at Boeing, NASA, and United Launch Alliance. "It would've been great to take you all with us," Wilmore told the team. "From launch, all the way up through the first day, this was one precise spacecraft. You would put in a point and it would go there and it would stay there. Much better than in the simulator. It was thrilling!"

posted 06-12-2024 05:12 PM               

Starliner Flight Day 7 Activities

NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, who flew to the International Space Station on Boeing's Starliner spacecraft, spent June 12 focusing on lab maintenance and researching advanced biotechnology.

Wilmore started his day checking cargo stowed in the Harmony module before replacing components in the station's bathroom, known as the waste and hygiene compartment located in the Tranquility module.

Williams extracted DNA from microbes collected from station water samples and sequenced their genes for identification in support of the Genes in Space Molecular Operations and Sequencing (GiSMOS) tech demo co-developed by Boeing and NASA. Results may inform ways to keep crews healthy and space habitats cleaner, which is vital for future long-duration and deep-space travel.

Having these two extra crew members on board the orbiting laboratory with experience in station work enabled the Expedition 71 crew to prepare for a June 13 spacewalk to remove a faulty electronics box from a communications antenna and collect samples of microorganisms on exterior surfaces.

posted 06-13-2024 05:43 PM               

Starliner Flight Day 8 Activities

NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams joined the Expedition 71 crew on the International Space Station one week ago and have been working closely with them each day on orbit.

On June 13, they helped astronauts Matt Dominick and Tracy Dyson suit-up and prepare for a planned spacewalk to remove a faulty electronics box from a communications antenna on station and to collect samples of microorganisms on the exterior of the orbiting laboratory.

When the spacewalk was later called off, Wilmore and Williams helped Dominick and Dyson get back out of their extravehicular activity spacesuits.

Later, the Starliner crew took an inventory of the food, water and hygiene products that have been used up to this point. They also worked with flight controllers to update a USB drive that is often refreshed with new information for return scenarios, like weather conditions, that can be downloaded to their tablets and used for an unlikely situation where crew would need to quickly leave the ISS.

posted 06-14-2024 07:37 AM               

New target date for Starliner return

NASA and Boeing now are targeting no earlier than Saturday, June 22, to return the Starliner Crew Flight Test mission from the International Space Station. The extra time allows the team to finalize departure planning and operations while the spacecraft remains cleared for crew emergency return scenarios within the flight rules.

"We are continuing to understand the capabilities of Starliner to prepare for the long-term goal of having it perform a six-month docked mission at the space station," said Steve Stich, manager of NASA's Commercial Crew Program. "The crew will perform additional hatch operations to better understand its handling, repeat some 'safe haven' testing and assess piloting using the forward window."

NASA and Boeing teams also prepared plans for Starliner to fire seven of its eight aft-facing thrusters while docked to the station to evaluate thruster performance for the remainder of the mission. Known as a "hot fire test," the process will see two bursts of the thrusters, totaling about a second, as part of a pathfinder process to evaluate how the spacecraft will perform during future operational missions after being docked to the space station for six months.

The crew also will investigate cabin air temperature readings across the cabin to correlate to the life support system temperature measurements.

"We have an incredible opportunity to spend more time at station and perform more tests which provides invaluable data unique to our position," said Mark Nappi, vice president and program manager, Commercial Crew Program, Boeing. "As the integrated NASA and Boeing teams have said each step of the way, we have plenty of margin and time on station to maximize the opportunity for all partners to learn – including our crew."

posted 06-18-2024 04:13 PM               

Starliner return from space station updated

Teams from NASA and Boeing now are targeting no earlier than 10:10 p.m. EDT Tuesday, June 25, for the undocking of the Starliner spacecraft from the International Space Station. For the primary undocking opportunity, NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams would land about 4:51 a.m. EDT on Wednesday, June 26, at White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico.

Mission teams supporting NASA's Boeing Crew Flight Test continue to review Starliner's data from the completed test objectives.

posted 06-20-2024 04:31 PM               

Recent Starliner docked activities

Starliner has completed 77 of the original 87 flight-test objectives, with the remaining 10 to occur between undocking and landing.

Crew Flight Test (CFT) astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams are testing more capabilities of the Starliner spacecraft and contributing to International Space Station operations. The entire CFT team is taking advantage of the additional days docked to learn as much as possible about Starliner to inform the ongoing certification process.

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

"Starliner is performing very well and we are getting exactly what we wanted out of this flight test by learning things you can only learn in flight," said Mark Nappi, Starliner program manager, Boeing Commercial Crew. "The crew has been incredibly supportive of this learning on orbit, working with the ground teams, to improve and sharpen the experience for future crews."

On Saturday, June 15, a hot fire test was performed on Starliner's reaction control system (RCS) thrusters in the service module propulsion system. Wilmore and Williams sat in the cockpit during the tests so teams could hear their feedback on the sounds and feel of the thrusters firing. At the conclusion of the hot fire testing, the helium manifolds were isolated and the leak rates in each manifold decreased.

Other Starliner tasks included cabin sound checks, Communications Head Protection Assembly (CHPA) adjustments, and filming of on-orbit hatch operations for future crews to study. While the spacecraft was powered up, data was transferred from on-board recorders to support engineering assessments and software was uploaded with upcoming landing parameters.

Sunday, June 16, Boeing and NASA participated in a mission dress rehearsal at White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico ahead of Starliner's return. The combined Landing and Recovery Team (LRT) simulated convoy operations and recovery of the crew and Starliner.

Wilmore and Williams helped the Expedition 71 crew with ISS tasks, such as research and maintaining electronic, life support, and orbital plumbing systems.

• Williams transferred wastewater between station modules, replaced a video camera in the Columbus laboratory module, moved to the Kibo lab and watered the Advanced Plant Habitat to prepare for upcoming science operations, and packed trash in a cargo return vehicle.

• Wilmore swapped out thermal gear that protects electronics hardware on station and also worked in the Harmony module's maintenance work area setting up hardware and researching liquid flows to improve the health care and food industries. The Gaucho Lung study he supported is exploring ways to optimize drug delivery for respiratory conditions, treat infants with respiratory distress syndrome, and prevent contamination of tubes with intermittent flows of liquids.

On Thursday, June 20, the crew took inventory of cargo stowed in Starliner for weight and center of gravity data analysis. Wilmore also made an adjustment to his commander seat in Starliner to account for an elongated spine from being on orbit, another key capability tested for future long-duration flights.

posted 06-21-2024 05:44 PM               

Starliner to return to Earth after station spacewalks

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.

"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."

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.

posted 06-27-2024 02:54 PM               

Starliner works 'exceptionally well' as Safe Haven in real-life scenario

Week in Review: Starliner crew wraps up third week in space

Wednesday (June 26) started as any other morning on-orbit for Starliner's maiden crew, astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams. Their exercise routine was followed by organizing cargo inside the Permanent Multipurpose Module. But the nominal day quickly changed when a satellite broke apart at an altitude near the International Space Station.

Shortly after 9 p.m. EDT, NASA instructed all astronauts to seek shelter in their respective spacecraft. Wilmore and Williams activated their Safe Haven procedures, sheltered inside Starliner, and began preparations for a possible undocking from station if it became necessary. They closed the hatch before the closest debris approach, which passed without issue.

"Starliner's Safe Haven worked exceptionally well and as envisioned for this case," said Ed Van Cise, the Starliner flight director who coordinated the sheltering actions with Wilmore and Williams.

Mission Control monitored the path of debris and after about an hour the crew was cleared to exit their spacecraft and resume station operations – which in this case was sleep. Starliner was out of docked quiescent mode for about three hours.

Wilmore and Williams performed two prior Safe Haven exercises inside Starliner, as part of the CFT test objectives. However, the additional metrics gathered Wednesday evening will benefit Starliner's certification process and sharpen the experience for future crews. Starliner remains available for return in case of an emergency on the space station that would require the crew to leave orbit immediately and come back to Earth.

The opportunity to learn more about how Starliner performs in space is also giving Wilmore and Williams the additional time they had hoped for in zero gravity.

Earlier in the week, Wilmore cheered on the University of Tennessee's baseball team, who played for and won the national championship, from the space station cupola. Wilmore is a Tennessee native and achieved a Master of Science in Aviation Systems from UT.

The ISS crew also helped prepare astronauts Tracy Dyson and Mike Barratt for a spacewalk. Their time outside station ended early due to a water leak in the service and cooling umbilical unit on Dyson's spacesuit. The crew members were not in any danger as result of the leak.

Tuesday, all nine astronauts worked on advanced microgravity research, checked spacesuits, and performed maintenance on the orbiting laboratory. Wilmore and Williams spent the evening inside the Harmony module maintaining plumbing gear. They replaced the pressure control and pump assembly motor that supports the space station's main restroom.

Next week, the Starliner crew will work with flight controllers to power up the spacecraft and load software files, charge batteries on a camera and their tablets, and perform other housekeeping activities. In addition to their valuable contributions to the space station, Wilmore and Williams are also helping ground teams collect critical data for longer-duration Starliner missions.

posted 07-03-2024 03:10 PM               

Starliner testing continues in space and on the ground to support future long-duration missions

Starliner crew enters fourth week on orbit while teams prepare for ground testing

NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams climbed into Starliner at the International Space Station and worked with Boeing flight controllers and engineers on Tuesday, July 2, during power up of the spacecraft.

The teams on-console in NASA's Mission Control Center in Houston and Boeing's Mission Control Center at Kennedy Space Center checked out various systems of the spacecraft with the crew, including repressurizing the propellant manifolds. They also conducted mission data loads, or MDLs, which are files for the spacecraft's computer to understand current inertial and relative navigation states, Earth rotation, and thermal conditioning on thrusters used during Starliner's return, and more.

"We updated some products on board to support the continued docked duration through the month of July and through the higher positive beta periods we are approaching," said Chloe Mehring, the Starliner flight director who coordinated the power-up actions with Wilmore and Williams. "Starliner is healthy and no anomalies were written against the spacecraft."

Additional Operational Checkout Capabilities, or OCCs, that were added during Tuesday's testing included tablet and procedure updates. Camera and tablet batteries were also charged while the spacecraft was fully powered up.

Canadian Space Agency astronaut Josh Kutryk, the CAPCOM or capsule communicator, who will fly on Starliner-1 following CFT, was also on console working with the crew. Kutryk updated crew toward end of power up that transfer of the MDLs were successful and all software updates are in a good configuration.

"Good news. Great work. Copy all," Wilmore replied over the ISS Space-to-Ground loop.

That work took place as teams at NASA's White Sands Test Facility in New Mexico prepared for Starliner's Reaction Control System, or RCS, thruster testing. An acceptance test, which is standard for all new thrusters as a quality check and to gather baseline performance data, is anticipated is starting today, July 3. This thruster was planned for a future Starliner mission.

Beginning next week, teams will run the thruster through similar conditions that Starliner experienced after launch on the way to the space station. The tests will include replicating the phase of the Crew Flight Test from launch to docking. Then tests will be performed to replicate what thrusters will experience from undocking to landing.

"We really want to understand the thruster and how we use it in flight," said Dan Niedermaier, the lead Boeing engineer for the thruster testing. "We will learn a lot from these thruster firings that will be valuable for the remainder of the Crew Flight Test and future missions."

Wilmore and Williams have remained busy assisting the space station crew with organizing stowage on orbiting laboratory. Earlier this week, Wilmore disassembled an empty NanoRacks CubeSat Deployer in the Japanese Experiment Module in preparation of upcoming NanoRacks missions. He also prepped and viewed samples for Moon Microscope, a demonstration that allows flight surgeons on Earth to diagnose illnesses and could provide diagnostic capabilities for crews on future missions to the Moon and Mars. Williams conducted some routine orbital plumbing, then audited U.S. stowage items housed inside the Zarya module.