May 2024 – Space Station

NASA, Mission Partners Ready for Starliner Launch

Image of NASA and mission partners conducting a prelaunch briefing at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Friday, May 31, 2024 ahead of NASA, Boeing Crew Flight Test — NASA and mission partners participate in a prelaunch briefing for NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Friday, May 31, 2024. From left to right at the dais are Derrol Nail, NASA Communications; Jim Free, NASA associate administrator; Steve Stich, manager, NASA’s Commercial Crew Program; Dana Weigel, manager, NASA’s International Space Station Program; Mike Fincke, NASA astronaut; Mark Nappi, vice president and program manager, Boeing Commercial Crew Program; Gary Wentz, vice president, Government and Commercial Programs, ULA; Mark Burger, launch weather officer, U.S. Space Force, 45th Weather Squadron. As part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program, NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams are the first to launch aboard Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft atop a ULA Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Liftoff is scheduled for 12:25 p.m. ET on Saturday, June 1, 2024. Photo credit: NASA

In less than 24 hours, NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams will be the first to launch aboard Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft to the International Space Station as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program.

NASA, Boeing, and ULA (United Launch Alliance) are ready for the Saturday, June 1, launch of the agency’s Boeing Crew Flight Test. The partners made the announcement during a prelaunch media briefing held earlier from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

“I’m very proud of the teams who have worked really hard the last two and a half weeks to prepare for launch,” said Steve Stich, manager, NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. “We’re really ready to go fly.”

Launch weather officers with the U.S. Space Force’s 45th Weather Squadron predict a 90% chance of favorable weather conditions for tomorrow’s launch, with ground winds and the cumulus cloud rule being the primary weather concerns.

The integrated ULA Atlas V rocket and Starliner spacecraft stack rolled out to the pad at Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on May 30 in preparation for liftoff. Meanwhile, Wilmore and Williams have remained in preflight quarantine inside the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building following their return to the Florida spaceport on May 28.

“We look forward to flying this mission. This is a test flight; we know we’re going to learn things,” said Mark Nappi, vice president and program manager, Commercial Crew Program, Boeing. “We are going to improve, and that improvement starts with the Starliner-1 mission and it will be even better than the mission we’re about to fly.”

The mission will send Wilmore and Williams to the orbiting laboratory for about a week 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 will carry four astronauts, or a mix of crew and cargo, for NASA missions to low Earth orbit.

Watch a replay of the media briefing on YouTube.

Liftoff is scheduled for no earlier than 12:25 p.m. Saturday, June 1. NASA will provide live launch coverage beginning at 8:15 a.m. 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.

NASA, Partners Host Boeing Crew Flight Test Prelaunch Media Briefing

Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft atop the United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket is seen on the launch pad of Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on Thursday, May 30, 2024, ahead of 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. Liftoff is scheduled for 12:25 p.m. ET on Saturday, June 1. Photo credit: NASA/Isaac Watson

Prelaunch operations continue ahead of NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test launch. NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams are ready, and the Boeing Starliner spacecraft, attached on the ULA (United Launch Alliance) Atlas V rocket, rolled out to the launch pad at Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on May 30.

NASA, Boeing, and ULA will hold a prelaunch briefing at 1 p.m. EDT, May 31, to answer questions from the media ahead of liftoff.

The briefing participants include:

NASA Associate Administrator Jim Free
Steve Stich, manager, NASA’s Commercial Crew Program
Dana Weigel, manager, NASA’s International Space Station Program
NASA astronaut Mike Fincke
Mark Nappi, vice president and program manager, Commercial Crew Program, Boeing
Gary Wentz, vice president, Government and Commercial Programs, ULA
Mark Burger, launch weather officer, 45th Weather Squadron, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station

Coverage of the briefing 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.

Launch of the ULA Atlas V rocket and Boeing Starliner spacecraft is targeted for 12:25 p.m. June 1. Starliner will carry Wilmore and Williams on a 25-hour journey to the International Space Station before docking to the forward-facing port of the orbiting laboratory’s Harmony module.

Crew Works Biology, Spacesuits; Awaits Spacecraft Arrival

A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket with Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft aboard is seen illuminated by spotlights at sunset on the launch pad at Space Launch Complex 41 ahead of the NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test. Credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky

Space biology research and spacesuit work filled the Expedition 71 crew’s schedule at the end of the week. In the meantime, the International Space Station is gearing up for two spacecraft scheduled to arrive with new cargo and a new crew this weekend.

Eye scans were on the crew’s medical list on Friday as researchers on the ground monitored to learn how living long-term in weightlessness affects vision. Flight Engineers Matthew Dominick and Tracy C. Dyson led the checks just before lunch time, scanning each other’s eyes and the eyes of fellow astronauts Jeanette Epps and Mike Barratt using the Ultrasound 2 device. At the end of the day, Dominick peered into a medical imaging device operated by Epps to gain views of his retina, cornea, and optic nerve.

Dominick started his morning wearing a vest and a headband packed with sensors recording his health data. He then pedaled on an exercise cycle as the wearable bio-monitors measured his cardiovascular and respiratory activity. Doctors will use the results to learn how the beating heart and breathing affects a crew member’s blood pressure in microgravity and protect crew health on long-term space missions.

Before the vision exams began, Dyson and Barratt partnered together in the Quest airlock and swapped spacesuit components. All four astronauts also took turns throughout the day studying spacewalk procedures and Canadarm2 robotic arm maneuvers on a computer. The crew is getting ready for a trio of spacewalks scheduled to take place in June for maintenance and science on the orbital outpost. NASA will announce the spacewalk details soon in a media advisory and a televised news conference.

Cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub also took part in Friday’s vision exams with Kononenko operating the Ultrasound 2 and scanning Chub’s eyes. The duo also called down to Roscosmos mission controllers and discussed preparations for the arrival of three tons of cargo aboard the Progress 88 resupply ship. The Progress 88 is in its second day in space and is due to automatically dock to the Poisk module at 7:47 a.m. EDT on Saturday.

Cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin wore a sensor-packed cap and explored future spacecraft and robotic piloting techniques on a computer. Insights from the Pilot-T investigation may inform crew training techniques for planetary missions.

Just a few hours after the Progress 88 docks to Poisk, Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft is planned to lift off atop the Atlas V rocket from United Launch Alliance. Mission managers have given the “go” for NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams on Boeing’s Crew Flight Test to launch aboard Starliner at 12:25 p.m. EDT on Saturday from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Starliner will take a daylong trip around Earth before docking to the Harmony module’s forward port at 1:50 p.m. on Sunday.

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.

Get weekly updates from NASA Johnson Space Center at: https://roundupreads.jsc.nasa.gov/

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Spacewalk Preps as Station Waits for Weekend Cargo and Crew Missions

The Progress 86 cargo craft, packed with trash and obsolete gear, is pictured before undocking from the space station on May 28 ending a six-month cargo mission.

The Expedition 71 crew continues gearing up for a trio of spacewalks while a cargo craft packed with food, fuel, and supplies orbits Earth headed toward the International Space Station. Back on Earth, two astronauts are counting down to their launch to the orbital lab aboard Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft.

Three NASA astronauts spent Thursday checking out a spacesuit ahead of a series of spacewalks planned to take place in June. Flight Engineer Tracy C. Dyson began her day in the Quest airlock powering up one spacesuit and checking out its life support and communications components. Afterward, she installed batteries on the suit’s jetpack, a safety device that a spacewalker would use to maneuver back to the space station in the unlikely event they became untethered from the orbital outpost.

Dyson was assisted by fellow crew members Mike Barratt and Jeanette Epps during the spacesuit checks. The duo also reviewed standard spacewalk procedures such as suiting up, exiting and entering Quest, safety steps, and communication protocols. NASA will announce the upcoming spacewalks for maintenance and science soon in a media advisory and a televised news conference.

NASA Flight Engineer Matthew Dominick started his day printing the spacewalk procedures his crewmates would later review. Next, he gathered emergency hardware and prepared the gear in advance of the arrival of two new crewmates planned to arrive on Sunday. Afterward, Dominick inspected and cleaned module hatches then set up wearable biomedical gear to monitor an astronaut’s heart activity.

Meanwhile, NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams are at Kennedy Space Center in Florida preparing for their launch to the space station set for 12:25 p.m. EDT on Saturday. The duo will lift off for Boeing’s Crew Flight Test inside Starliner atop the Atlas V rocket from United Launch Alliance. The experienced crew will take a daylong ride to the space station and dock to the Harmony module’s forward port at 1:50 p.m. on Sunday.

NASA TV will broadcast the mission live on the NASA+ streaming service via the web or the NASA app. Launch and docking coverage also will air live on NASA Television, YouTube, and on the agency’s website. Learn how to stream NASA TV through a variety of platforms including social media.

In the Roscosmos segment of the station, cosmonaut Nikolai Chub continued researching the ability to 3D print tools in microgravity. Expedition 71 Commander Oleg Kononenko completed his 24-hour heart and blood pressure monitoring session then conducted a photographic inspection of windows inside the Zvezda service module. Flight Engineer Alexander Grebenkin also spent his shift inside Zvezda performing routine maintenance on the module’s air conditioning system.

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.

Get weekly video highlights at: https://roundupreads.jsc.nasa.gov/videoupdate/

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Progress Cargo Craft Launches, En Route to Station

The Progress 88 cargo craft launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 5:43am ET. Credit: NASA TV — The Progress 88 cargo craft launches from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 5:43am ET. Credit: NASA TV

The unpiloted Progress 88 spacecraft is safely in orbit headed for the International Space Station following a launch at 5:43 a.m. EDT (2:43 p.m. Baikonur time) May 30, on a Soyuz rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

After a two-day in-orbit journey to the station, the spacecraft will automatically dock to the space-facing port of orbiting laboratory’s Poisk module at 7:47 a.m. Saturday, June 1. NASA coverage of rendezvous and docking will begin at 7 a.m. on NASA+, NASA Television, the NASA app, YouTube, and the agency’s website.

The spacecraft will deliver about three tons of food, fuel, and supplies to the space station.

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.

Get weekly updates from NASA Johnson Space Center at: https://roundupreads.jsc.nasa.gov/

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Progress Resupply Cargo Craft Launching Live on NASA TV

The Progress 86 resupply ship is pictured approaching the space station for a docking on Dec. 3, 2023.

NASA’s live launch coverage is underway 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.

The unpiloted Progress 88 spacecraft is scheduled to launch at 5:43 a.m. EDT (2:43 p.m. Baikonur time) May 30, on a Soyuz rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The Roscosmos spacecraft will liftoff carrying about three tons of food, fuel, and supplies for the Expedition 71 crew aboard the International Space Station.

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.

Get weekly updates from NASA Johnson Space Center at: https://roundupreads.jsc.nasa.gov/

Get the latest from NASA delivered every week. Subscribe here: www.nasa.gov/subscribe

NASA, Mission Partners ‘Go’ for Crew Flight Test Launch

NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams arrive back at the Launch and Landing Facility at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Tuesday, May 28, 2024, ahead of NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test. The first launch attempt on May 6 was scrubbed. As part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program, Wilmore and Williams are the first to launch to the International Space Station aboard Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex-41 at nearby Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Liftoff is scheduled for 12:25 p.m. EDT on Saturday, June 1. Photo credit: NASA/Cory S. Huston

NASA and Boeing teams polled “go” to proceed with plans to launch the agency’s Boeing Crew Flight Test to the International Space Station at 12:25 p.m. EDT Saturday, June 1. During a Delta-Agency Flight Test Readiness Review Wednesday at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, leaders from NASA, Boeing, and ULA (United Launch Alliance) verified launch readiness, including all systems, facilities, and teams supporting the test flight.

A backup launch opportunity is available on Sunday, June 2, with additional launch windows on Wednesday, June 5, and Thursday, June 6.

NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams returned to Kennedy on May 28, and will remain in quarantine at the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building until Saturday’s launch. The crew previously quarantined in Houston while mission teams worked to resolve various items with the rocket and spacecraft since scrubbing an initial launch attempt on May 6.

Next up, NASA leaders, along with Boeing and ULA partners, will hold a prelaunch news conference at 1 p.m. EDT Friday, May 31, at Kennedy’s press auditorium.

Liftoff of the Atlas V rocket and Starliner spacecraft will occur from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The Crew Flight Test will send Wilmore and Williams to the orbiting laboratory for about a week before returning to Earth aboard the reusable crew capsule, which will make a parachute- and- airbag-assisted landing in the southwestern United States.

Spacewalk Preps, Science Hardware Work Top Wednesday’s Schedule

Astronaut Mike Barratt reads maintenance procedures on a computer tablet as he works on a pair of spacesuits inside the Quest airlock.

Spacewalk preparations and science hardware maintenance topped the Expedition 71 crew’s schedule on Wednesday. Human research and 3D printing rounded out the itinerary aboard the International Space Station.

Three spacewalks are planned for the month of June when a pair of astronauts not yet named will exit the orbital outpost to replace and repair hardware and search for microbes on the orbital outpost. NASA Flight Engineers Tracy C. Dyson, Matthew Dominick, Mike Barratt, and Jeanette Epps spent a few hours on Wednesday reviewing standard spacewalk procedures such as suiting up, exiting and entering the Quest airlock, safety, and communications. Afterward, Dyson went on and configured Quest and readied a spacesuit for spacewalk operations. NASA will announce details of the upcoming spacewalks soon in a media advisory and a televised news conference.

Science hardware is constantly running aboard the space station and regularly needs monitoring and maintenance to ensure effective microgravity research. Dominick, Barratt, and Epps split their time throughout the day in the Destiny and Kibo laboratories servicing physics and botany gear.

Dominick began the science work by first swapping samples inside the Materials Science Laboratory, a research furnace that exposes materials such as metals, alloys, polymers, and more to high temperatures for physics research. Epps replaced a carbon dioxide bottle and checked for pressure leaks on the Advanced Plant Habitat that has grown a variety of crops for several years including lettuce and tomatoes for research and consumption. Next, Barratt installed experiment samples and replaced hardware inside the Combustion Integrated Rack to support an experiment exploring fire safety in space.

Roscosmos Flight Engineer Nikolai Chub finished a 24-hour heart and blood pressure monitoring session for a space cardiac investigation. Chub then wore a sensor-packed cap and studied futuristic spacecraft and robotic piloting techniques on a computer that may inform future planetary missions.

Commander Oleg Kononenko began his 24-hour cardio-monitoring session attaching sensors to himself measuring his heart rate and blood pressure. The veteran cosmonaut and five-time station visitor then activated a 3D printer and tested the on-demand manufacturing of tools in weightlessness.

Flight Engineer Alexander Grebenkin spent his day on life support duties starting with filling up Roscosmos’ Elektron oxygen generator with water. Next, the first-time space flyer spent the afternoon in the Nauka science module replacing orbital plumbing components.

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.

Get weekly video highlights at: https://roundupreads.jsc.nasa.gov/videoupdate/

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Cargo Ship Departs, Two Rockets Near Launch During Busy Day on Station

May 28, 2024: International Space Station Configuration. Four spaceships are parked at the space station including the SpaceX Dragon Endeavour spacecraft, Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus space freighter, the Soyuz MS-25 crew ship, and the Progress 87 resupply ship.

A cargo ship departed the International Space Station on Tuesday leaving four spacecraft parked at the orbital lab. Meanwhile, as the Expedition 71 crew keeps up its advanced microgravity research two more spaceships are counting down to their missions to the orbital outpost in less than a week.

A trash-loaded Progress 86 cargo craft undocked from the space station’s Poisk module at 4:39 a.m. EDT on Tuesday. The Roscosmos resupply ship ended its six-month stay in space a few hours later when it reentered the Earth’s atmosphere for a safe, but fiery demise above the Pacific Ocean.

Meanwhile, two rockets are gearing up to launch more cargo and a new crew to the orbiting outpost by the end of the week. First, more than three tons of food, fuel, and supplies are scheduled to lift off aboard the Progress 88 spacecraft at 5:43 a.m. on Thursday from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The resupply ship from Roscosmos will then orbit Earth for two days before its automated docking to Poisk at 7:47 a.m. on Saturday.

Cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub trained on Tuesday for the arrival of the Progress 88. The duo practiced for the unlikely possibility of remotely controlling the spacecraft with the space station’s telerobotically operated rendezvous unit, or TORU. The device, located in the Zvezda service module, can send commands to control approaching Roscosmos’ spaceships and be used by cosmonauts to manually guide the vehicles to a docking if necessary.

Meanwhile, NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams are preparing to depart Houston for Kennedy Space Center in Florida ahead of Boeing’s Crew Flight Test launch to the International Space Station. The experienced space duo is targeted to launch aboard Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft atop an Atlas V rocket from United Launch Alliance at 12:25 p.m. on Saturday. They will take a daylong trip around the planet before docking to the Harmony module’s forward port at 1:50 p.m. on Sunday.

NASA TV will broadcast both missions live on the NASA+ streaming service via the web or the NASA app. Launch and docking coverage also will air live on NASA Television, YouTube, and on the agency’s website. Learn how to stream NASA TV through a variety of platforms including social media.

Back in space, NASA Flight Engineer Tracy C. Dyson spent her day inspecting a treadmill and finalizing spacesuit work. She took turns with fellow NASA astronaut Jeanette Epps checking and cleaning components on the Tranquility module’s treadmill and photographing the condition of the exercise device for analysis. Next, Dyson joined NASA Flight Engineer Matthew Dominick in the Quest airlock and finished cleaning cooling loops inside a pair of spacesuits. Those suits are being readied for a trio of maintenance and science spacewalks planned for June.

NASA astronaut Mike Barratt spent most of his day supporting life science helping doctors understand how weightlessness affects biology. He started his day in the Kibo laboratory module configuring components on biology habitat hardware then installing the advanced gear on an artificial gravity generating incubator. Afterward, he participated in a vision test using a standard eye chart along with Dominick and Epps.

In the Roscosmos segment of the station, Kononenko and Chub worked on a pair of different experiments before their Progress 88 training session. Kononenko explored futuristic piloting techniques on a computer as Chub attached sensors to himself monitoring his heart activity and blood pressure. Flight Engineer Alexander Grebenkin started his day collecting station air samples for analysis before spending the rest of his shift on life support maintenance tasks.

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.

Get weekly video highlights at: https://roundupreads.jsc.nasa.gov/videoupdate/

Get the latest from NASA delivered every week. Subscribe here: www.nasa.gov/subscribe

NASA, Mission Partners Answer Questions Behind Starliner Scrub

A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket with Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft at launch pad at Space Launch Complex-41 on Saturday, May 4, 2024 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. NASA/Joel Kowsky

Managers from NASA, Boeing, and ULA (United Launch Alliance) hosted a media teleconference to discuss ongoing work ahead of sending NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams to the International Space Station as part of the agency’s Boeing Crew Flight Test.

The media event provided an update on a valve ULA replaced on the Centaur upper stage of the Atlas V rocket, as well as a small helium leak in the spacecraft’s service module, and a propulsion system assessment to understand potential helium system impacts on some Starliner return scenarios.

Listen to a replay of the media teleconference on the agency’s YouTube channel.

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.

The crew remains in quarantine in preparation for the launch. NASA, Boeing, and ULA also will participate in a Delta-Agency Flight Test Readiness Review on Wednesday, May 29, to evaluate the work performed since the last launch attempt on May 6.

Liftoff is scheduled for 12:25 p.m. Saturday, June 1, from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. After successful completion of the flight test, NASA will begin the final process of certifying Starliner and its systems for crewed rotation missions to the space station.

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.