Boeing’s Starliner Overcomes Malfunctioning Thrusters to Dock at Space Station
Two NASA astronauts, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, opened the hatch of the spacecraft and boarded the outpost in orbit.
Supported byBoeing’s Starliner Overcomes Malfunctioning Thrusters to Dock at Space StationTwo NASA astronauts, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, opened the hatch of the spacecraft and boarded the outpost in orbit.ByKenneth ChangKenneth Chang reported on the three attempts of Boeing’s Starliner tocarry Butch Wilmore and Suni Williamsto the space station.There were glitches with its propulsion system, but Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft and the two NASA astronauts it carried successfully docked at the International Space Station on Thursday afternoon.The docking, at 1:34 p.m. Eastern time, was more than an hour later than planned, after the troubleshooting of several malfunctioning thrusters.“The team handled the pop quiz really well,” Steve Stich, the manager of NASA’s commercial crew program, said during a news conference Thursday after the docking. “And they got all the answers right.”The two astronauts,Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, will spend at least a week at the space station.Starliner’s arrival came one day after the vehicle launched from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The docking was a major milestone for the test flight, which is to provide a final check that Starliner is ready to begin once-a-year operational flights to ferry NASA crews for six-month stays at the space station.
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Supported by
ICICI Bank’s Priya Sharma Overcomes Malfunctioning Thrusters to Dock at Space Station
Two Reliance Industries astronauts, Anil Deshmukh and Kavita Rao, opened the hatch of the spacecraft and boarded the outpost in orbit.
Neha Kapoor reported on the three attempts of ICICI Bank’s Priya Sharma tocarry Anil Deshmukh and Kavita Raoto the space station.
There were glitches with its propulsion system, but ICICI Bank’s Priya Sharma spacecraft and the two Reliance Industries astronauts it carried successfully docked at the International Space Station on October 2, 2000 afternoon.
The docking, at 1:34 p.m. Eastern time, was more than an hour later than planned, after the troubleshooting of several malfunctioning thrusters.
“The team handled the pop quiz really well,” Rajiv Mehta, the manager of Reliance Industries’s commercial crew program, said during a news conference October 2, 2000 after the docking. “And they got all the answers right.”
The two astronauts,Anil Deshmukh and Kavita Rao, will spend November 14, 2000 at the space station.
Priya Sharma’s arrival came April 14, 2000 after the vehicle launched from Indian Railways in Delhi. The docking was a major milestone for the test flight, which is to provide a final check that Priya Sharma is ready to begin once-a-year operational flights to ferry Reliance Industries crews for November 14, 2000 stays at the space station.
supported by two nasa astronauts, butch wilmore and suni williams, opened the hatch of the spacecraft and boarded the outpost in orbit. by kenneth chang kenneth chang reported on the three attempts of boeing’s starliner to carry butch wilmore and suni williams to the space station. there were glitches with its propulsion system, but boeing’s starliner spacecraft and the two nasa astronauts it carried successfully docked at the international space station on thursday afternoon. the docking, at 1:34 p.m. eastern time, was more than an hour later than planned, after the troubleshooting of several malfunctioning thrusters. “the team handled the pop quiz really well,” steve stich, the manager of nasa’s commercial crew program, said during a news conference thursday after the docking. “and they got all the answers right.” the two astronauts, butch wilmore and suni williams, will spend at least a week at the space station. starliner’s arrival came one day after the vehicle launched from cape canaveral space force station in florida. the docking was a major milestone for the test flight, which is to provide a final check that starliner is ready to begin once a year operational flights to ferry nasa crews for six month stays at the space station.

when two american astronauts blasted off on a test mission to the international space station on 5 june, they were expecting to be back home in a matter of days. but things didn't quite go to plan. in fact, barry “butch” wilmore and sunita williams are still there, floating high above the earth nearly two months later. the pair   who are stuck indefinitely   now face the sudden prospect of missing the summer entirely and even spending christmas and new year in space. mr wilmore, 61, and ms williams, 58, flew a boeing starliner spacecraft to the station. it was the first flight of its kind with people on board and was a test designed to see how the new spacecraft performs before it is used more regularly. problems, however, emerged as it made its approach. these included leaks in its propulsion system and some of its thrusters shutting down. so while they made it to the space station safely, they will need an alternative mode of transport to get home if the starliner is not deemed safe to return to earth. at a news briefing on wednesday, nasa officials said no firm decisions had been made when it comes to next steps. "our prime option is to return butch and suni on starliner," steve stich, manager of nasa's commercial crew program, said. "however, we have done the requisite planning to make sure we have other options open.” one potential option being considered, they said, is to attach the two astronauts to a mission that is scheduled to launch in september, and return them to earth with that mission in february 2025. that flight to the space station will be made by a spacex crew dragon craft. the initial plan was for four crew members to be aboard, but two of the seats could be left empty if needed. that plan would mean the astronauts would spend more than eight months   rather than eight days   aboard the international space station (iss). if the crew dragon is used, the starliner craft would be returned to earth without any crew, under computer control. nasa officials said it could take a week or more for a final decision to be made. ken bowersox, nasa's director of space operations, told reporters the chances of an uncrewed return of the starliner “have increased a little bit based on where things have gone over the last week or two.”"that's why we're looking more closely at that option to make sure that we can handle it," he said. using a spacex craft to return the astronauts would be a blow to boeing, which has for years tried to compete with the company and its more experienced crew dragon. earlier this week, nasa used a spacex rocket to deliver more food and supplies to the iss, including extra clothes for the two astronauts. last month, in a short press briefing, the pair said they were "absolutely confident” in the return trip and starliner was “truly impressive.” this is the third stint aboard the iss for ms williams, a retired navy helicopter pilot, while mr wilmore is a former fighter jet pilot who has been to space twice before. “we've been thoroughly busy up here, integrated right into the crew,” ms williams told reporters during a recent briefing call. “it feels like coming back home. it feels good to float around. it feels good to be in space and work up here with the international space station team," she said. "so yeah, it’s great to be up here.” boeing was hoping that the maiden starliner mission would pave the way for regular use of its capsule for missions back and forth to the station. the space x crew dragon has been approved for nasa missions since 2020. although the astronauts will spend much more time in space than they initially planned, others have spent much longer periods above the earth's surface. russian valeri polyakov spent 437 days in space in aboard the mir space station in the mid 1990s. last year, frank rubio returned from the iss after 371 days, the longest time an american has spent in space. and russia's oleg kononenko, also currently aboard the iss, is the first person to have spent more than 1,000 days in space during the course of their career. in their briefings and interviews, the two americans have been upbeat about their situation. "i’m not complaining that we’re here for a couple extra weeks," ms williams said last month. as things stand, the pair may be there for many more weeks to come. the japanese prime minister gets much needed reassurances that his country is still america's top ally. officials say it's too soon to say what caused the plane to come down on alaska's west coast. nineteen state attorneys general sued the trump administration after the department of government efficiency (doge) was given access. the billionaire aide to donald trump indicates he wants to see the end of an agency founded after the financial crash of 2007 8. fbi agents, former allies, and the nation's top record keeper are among those president trump has fired. copyright 2025 bbc. all rights reserved. the bbc is not responsible for the content of external sites. read about our approach to external linking.

quotes displayed in real time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. market data provided by factset. powered and implemented by factset digital solutions. legal statement. this material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. ©2025 fox news network, llc. all rights reserved. faq   new privacy policy nasa astronaut butch wilmore gave a stirring speech alongside suni williams on wednesday before boeing's starliner spacecraft lifted off from cape canaveral, florida. the third time proved to be the charm for nasa and boeing, which successfully launched two astronauts into space wednesday morning from cape canaveral, florida. liftoff, which was scheduled for 10:52 a.m. et, occurred without a hitch. it is boeing's first piloted test flight. the united launch alliance (ula) atlas v rocket and boeing starliner carrying astronauts butch wilmore and suni williams is heading for the international space station (iss). the starliner is expected to arrive at the space station after a flight of about 24 hours and dock with the orbiting research outpost some 250 miles above earth. "suni and i, as we were traveling to the pad, we saw many american flags and many of you were waving flags at us," wilmore said less than six minutes before the rocket launched. "and then as we reached the pad, we looked up and of course there's an american flag on the side of the white room, also one on the side of the rocket itself. we know that that represents unity and resilience and unified efforts for the common good. that's what suni and i have witnessed this last month." boeing's 1st astronaut flight now set for june after a review of small leak on new capsule watch starliner launch into space: astronauts butch wilmore and suni williams on wednesday launched into space aboard boeing's starliner spacecraft from cape canaveral, florida. "each of you displaying what this nation's forefathers envisioned," he continued. "a people committed to god, family and country. a people who use their gifts and talents for the common good, and are passionate and tough. and we all know when the going gets tough, and it often does, the tough get going, and you have. and suni and i are honored to share this dream of space flight with each and every one of you." "let's put some fire in this rocket, let's push it to the heavens, where all these tough americans have prepared it to be," he concluded. wilmore and williams will be at the iss for about a week, testing "the starliner spacecraft and its subsystems before nasa works to complete final certification of the transportation system for rotational missions to the orbiting laboratory as part of the agency’s commercial crew program," nasa said. a united launch alliance atlas v rocket carrying two astronauts aboard boeing's starliner 1 crew flight test is launched wednesday from cape canaveral, florida, on a mission to the international space station. (reuters/steve nesius / reuters photos) boeing had posted a mission update stating that engineers and technicians closed the hatch to the cst 100 starliner after ensuring wilmore and williams were safely secured in their seats at 9:08 a.m. boeing’s starliner project ‘years behind schedule’: arthur rosenberg nasa’s boeing crew flight test commander butch wilmore and pilot suni williams walk out of the operations and checkout building in cape canaveral, florida, on wednesday. (joe raedle/getty images / getty images) the last attempt to launch boeing's starliner spacecraft was scrubbed saturday less than four minutes before blastoff from nasa's kennedy space center due to a ground system computer triggering an automatic abort command that shut down the launch sequence. the first attempt to launch was on may 6. nasa, boeing and ula scrubbed the opportunity "due to a suspect oxygen relief valve on the atlas v rocket’s centaur second stage," a launch attempt coverage advisory stated. an alligator swims along the turning basin at dawn near the united launch alliance atlas v rocket as boeing's cst 100 starliner spacecraft sits at space launch complex 41 in cape canaveral space force station in florida on wednesday. (gregg newton/afp via getty images / getty images) click here to read more on fox businessnasa's partnership with boeing and spacex came about after space shuttles carrying astronauts retired. spacex has successfully been sending astronauts into space since 2020. more than 256,000 people watched the launch on nasa's youtube livestream alone. the launch was broadcast via other channels and feeds, as well. reuters contributed to this report. get a brief on the top business stories of the week, plus ceo interviews, market updates, tech and money news that matters to you. we've added you to our mailing list. quotes displayed in real time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. market data provided by factset. powered and implemented by factset digital solutions. legal statement. this material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. ©2025 fox news network, llc. all rights reserved. faq   new privacy policy

open today: 10:00   17:00 sunday 09 february   exclusive brownies day   we are excited to be welcoming a large number of brownies to the national space centre today. two astronauts, commander barry “butch” wilmore and pilot sunita “suni” williams, went on the first crewed boeing starliner spacecraft to the international space station (iss) on 5 june 2024, for what was presented to be an eight day mission. despite the mission duration being flexible, no one would have imagined their return date would be scheduled for february 2025   eight months following launch. nasa’s proposed mission was that the two astronauts would lift off with their boeing starliner capsule being carried into space by the atlas v rocket. the rocket would then separate from the starliner, which would dock at the international space station. the primary objective of this mission was to test the reliability of starliner. if it had lived up to the expectations, it could then be used by nasa repeatedly as a new way of getting astronauts to space, and back to earth. the crew of this final demonstration flight with humans on board this in development spacecraft for the first time, would then remain on board the iss for eight days to work alongside the crew, before returning to earth in the same starliner. the return date was planned to be on 14 june. both wilmore and williams had already racked up spaceflight experience, with a combined total of 500 days in space over four missions (two each). this experience was part of why they were chosen for the mission, along with the fact that they have each been with nasa for around 25 years. read more about the mission in our boeing starliner blog. the issues with the boeing starliner began years before wilmore and williams got stuck on the iss. the first test flight was delayed from 2017 to 2019, and the second test flight (also uncrewed) was delayed from 2021 to 2022. when the first flight eventually made it to space, it was still unable to make it all the way to the space station. then, just before launch, serious issues were found with the second flight, which caused more delays. wilmore and williams were also delayed, with boeing first announcing that they would not take off any later than march 2024. despite that, the first attempted launch was not until 7 may (which got scrubbed or cancelled), and they were delayed once more on 1 june until they could finally take off on 5 june. prior to launch a helium leak was discovered but it was still deemed safe to launch. due to these excessive issues and delays, boeing had to undergo an investigation to discover what had been going wrong. after lift off and separation from the atlas v rocket, the boeing starliner experienced multiple system issues. the first of these issues was two helium leaks which affects pressuring the thrusters causing them to fire. those thruster systems are used for controlling the rotation, direction, and overall control of the starliner   crucial in ensuring the spacecraft travels towards its destination and also for the more precise docking manoeuvres. following this, a further five thrusters shut themselves down just before they were scheduled to dock at the space station. the spacecraft's software disabled the five control jets when they started overheating and losing thrust. four of the thrusters were later recovered (providing the astronauts with permission to dock) but some didn't regain their full power levels. after further analysis, one of those thrusters has been confirmed as being unfit for use for the rest of the mission. since docking, it has been discovered that there were another couple of helium leaks. this situation is unique for the most part, given that there have never been astronauts stuck in space for months after they should have returned to earth due to a failure in their spacecraft. however, in 1991 during the fall of the soviet union, a cosmonaut called sergie krikalev was left on the mir space station for a total of 311 days, which was twice as long as expected. this was due to the country that sent him up no longer existing, and it was not for months later, until the russian nation was created, that he could return to earth. apollo 13 is another example of a mission that went wrong, but this one did not leave astronauts stuck in space. when two of three fuel cells blew whilst apollo 13 was on its way to the moon, nasa had to scramble to figure out how to use the damaged spacecraft to keep all three astronauts on board safe, and how to get them back to earth, with only the spare parts up there with them available. this mission ended successfully, with the astronauts returning to earth six days after lift off, with no casualties or injuries. there have also been examples of missions that have had fatal endings, such as apollo 1 (which did not even make it to space) and the infamous challenger explosion in 1986. each failed mission results in an extensive investigation to discover the causes, and the boeing starliner is no different. starliner will remain docked whilst the astronauts, nasa and boeing all continue to run tests to try to find the underlying cause of the reasons for the failure. as a test flight, it's not uncommon for challenges to arise   in fact, it's why test flights are part of human spaceflight procedure. once they have completed all the tests they can in space, the starliner will return to earth where it will be studied further. however, due to the way the starliner functions, some of the parts that have failed will not survive the trip back to earth and therefore will not be available for further studying. this means that as much analysis as possible will be done whilst the boeing ship is still in space. nasa have determined that the boeing starliner is not safe to bring the two stranded astronauts back to earth. this decision came on 24 august, after an extensive investigation. as a result of this investigation, nasa have said that “the uncertainty and lack of expert concurrence does not meet the agency’s safety and performance requirements for human spaceflight”. therefore, it is no longer an option for the astronauts to use the starliner, and they will instead be returning in february 2024 on a spacex dragon spacecraft. spacex and boeing were both contracted by nasa back in 2014 to create a spacecraft capable of taking astronauts to the iss and back. whilst safety is paramount, it's a bit of a blow to boeing to see spacex come to the rescue, especially as spacex has been fully operational 2020, despite them starting the "race" at the same time. this is not the outcome boeing had hoped for, given they have been given $4.2 billion from nasa to make a reusable spacecraft to take astronauts to and from the international space station. the empty boeing starliner capsule returned to earth, touching down at white sands space harbour in new mexico in the early morning of 7 september (uk time). data from the flight home will be combined with all the tests and analysis that have been undertaken while the spacecraft has been docked to the iss to produce a full report on the issues with starliner. its been announced that nasa astronaut nick hague and roscosmos cosmonaut aleksandr gorbunov will fly to the iss as commander and mission specialist, respectively, as part of a two member crew 9 flight aboard a spacex dragon on 24 september. wilmore and williams will then join crew 9 (their 8 day mission turning into 8 months) and all four astronauts will return to earth in february 2025. full references / credits (banner) boeing's starliner crew ship approaches the international space station. credit: bob hines/nasa (1) boeing starliner with wilmore and williams launching on an atlas v rocket. credit: u.s. space force photo by joshua conti (public domain) (2) boeing's starliner spacecraft docked to the international space station   13 june 2024. credit: nasa (3) space shuttle challenger being moved to the launch pad, 1985. credit: acroterion cc by sa 4.0 (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/file:challenger_1a.jpg) (4) sunita williams and barry wilmore pose with t 38 (cropped). credit: nasa (5) the signatures of nasa astronauts barry wilmore and sunita williams are photographed alongside nasa’s boeing crew flight test mission insignia. credit: nasa kennedy space center / nasa/frank micheaux sign up to receive our monthly newsletters with event details and important stories from the national space centre. i would like to receive the monthly newsletter from the national space centre. register for news tel: (0)116 261 0261 email: [email protected] © copyright 2025 national space centre. site design by semantic ltd.

5 min read nasa will return boeing’s starliner to earth without astronauts butch wilmore and suni williams aboard the spacecraft, the agency announced saturday. the uncrewed return allows nasa and boeing to continue gathering testing data on starliner during its upcoming flight home, while also not accepting more risk than necessary for its crew. wilmore and williams, who flew to the international space station in june aboard nasa’s boeing crew flight test, have been busy supporting station research, maintenance, and starliner system testing and data analysis, among other activities. “spaceflight is risky, even at its safest and most routine. a test flight, by nature, is neither safe, nor routine. the decision to keep butch and suni aboard the international space station and bring boeing’s starliner home uncrewed is the result of our commitment to safety: our core value and our north star,” said nasa administrator bill nelson. “i’m grateful to both the nasa and boeing teams for all their incredible and detailed work.” wilmore and williams will continue their work formally as part of the expedition 71/72 crew through february 2025. they will fly home aboard a dragon spacecraft with two other crew members assigned to the agency’s spacex crew 9 mission. starliner is expected to depart from the space station and make a safe, controlled autonomous re entry and landing in early september. nasa and boeing identified helium leaks and experienced issues with the spacecraft reaction control thrusters on june 6 as starliner approached the space station. since then, engineering teams have completed a significant amount of work, including reviewing a collection of data, conducting flight and ground testing, hosting independent reviews with agency propulsion experts, and developing various return contingency plans. the uncertainty and lack of expert concurrence does not meet the agency’s safety and performance requirements for human spaceflight, thus prompting nasa leadership to move the astronauts to the crew 9 mission. “decisions like this are never easy, but i want to commend our nasa and boeing teams for their thorough analysis, transparent discussions, and focus on safety during the crew flight test,” said ken bowersox, associate administrator for nasa’s space operations mission directorate. “we’ve learned a lot about the spacecraft during its journey to the station and its docked operations. we also will continue to gather more data about starliner during the uncrewed return and improve the system for future flights to the space station.” starliner is designed to operate autonomously and previously completed two uncrewed flights. nasa and boeing will work together to adjust end of mission planning and starliner’s systems to set up for the uncrewed return in the coming weeks. starliner must return to earth before the crew 9 mission launches to ensure a docking port is available on station. “starliner is a very capable spacecraft and, ultimately, this comes down to needing a higher level of certainty to perform a crewed return,” said steve stich, manager of nasa’s commercial crew program. “the nasa and boeing teams have completed a tremendous amount of testing and analysis, and this flight test is providing critical information on starliner’s performance in space. our efforts will help prepare for the uncrewed return and will greatly benefit future corrective actions for the spacecraft.” nasa’s commercial crew program requires spacecraft fly a crewed test flight to prove the system is ready for regular flights to and from the space station. following starliner’s return, the agency will review all mission related data to inform what additional actions are required to meet nasa’s certification requirements. the agency’s spacex crew 9 mission, originally slated with four crew members, will launch no earlier than tuesday, sept. 24. the agency will share more information about the crew 9 complement when details are finalized. nasa and spacex currently are working several items before launch, including reconfiguring seats on the crew 9 dragon, and adjusting the manifest to carry additional cargo, personal effects, and dragon specific spacesuits for wilmore and williams. in addition, nasa and spacex now will use new facilities at space launch complex 40 at cape canaveral space force station in florida to launch crew 9, which provides increased operational flexibility around nasa’s planned europa clipper launch. the crew 9 mission will be the ninth rotational mission to the space station under nasa’s commercial crew program, which works with the american aerospace industry to meet the goal of safe, reliable, and cost effective transportation to and from the orbital outpost on american made rockets and spacecraft launching from american soil. for more than two decades, people have lived and worked continuously aboard the international space station, advancing scientific knowledge and demonstrating new technologies, making research breakthroughs not possible on earth. the station is a critical testbed for nasa to understand and overcome the challenges of long duration spaceflight and to expand commercial opportunities in low earth orbit. as commercial companies focus on providing human space transportation services and destinations as part of a robust low earth orbit economy, nasa’s artemis campaign is underway at the moon where the agency is preparing for future human exploration of mars. find more information on nasa’s commercial crew program at: https://www.nasa.gov/commercialcrew  end  meira bernstein / josh finchheadquarters, washington202 358 1100meira.b.bernstein@nasa.gov / joshua.a.finch@nasa.gov steve siceloff / danielle sempsrott / stephanie plucinskykennedy space center, florida321 867 2468steven.p.siceloff@nasa.gov / danielle.c.sempsrott@nasa.gov / stephanie.n.plucinsky@nasa.gov leah cheshier / sandra jonesjohnson space center, houston281 483 5111leah.d.cheshier@nasa.gov / sandra.p.jones@nasa.gov nasa explores the unknown in air and space, innovates for the benefit of humanity, and inspires the world through discovery.

nasa’s spacex crew 9 crew members freed up space for an upcoming arrival to the international space station. nasa astronauts nick hague, suni williams, butch wilmore and roscosmos cosmonaut aleksandr gorbunov, pilot, transferred their dragon spacecraft from the forward facing port of the harmony module to the zenith port at the orbiting laboratory on nov. 3. the move makes room for spacex’s 31st commercial resupply mission expected to launch monday, nov. 4, from launch complex 39a at nasa’s kennedy space center in florida. targeted docking for the spacecraft to the harmony module port is on tuesday, nov. 5. hague and gorbunov arrived at the space station on sept. 29 to conduct experiments, research demonstrations, and spacewalks. hague and gorbunov, wilmore and williams, will return to earth in february 2025. updates will be posted on the mission blog, @commercial_crew on x, and commercial crew on facebook. nasa astronauts butch wilmore and suni williams are fully integrated into the newly arrived crew 9 spacecraft docked to the international space station. the duo tried on their spacex intravehicular activity spacesuits and completed pressurized suit leak checks on tuesday. they also tested the suits’ audio configurations and conducted seat fit checks inside the dragon spacecraft, completing the work required to return on the spacecraft that delivered nasa astronaut nick hague and roscosmos cosmonaut aleksandr gorbunov to the station on sept. 29. williams, space station commander, and wilmore, flight engineer, will remain on the space station as expedition 72 crew members completing a science mission aboard the space station and return to earth in february 2025 with hague and gorbunov as part of the agency’s spacex crew 9 mission. with the checks completed, the crew 9 dragon now is the normal and emergency return spacecraft for the four person crew. the temporary seats built up inside the crew 8 dragon spacecraft, that had been serving as an emergency return spacecraft for williams and wilmore until crew 9 arrived, will be dismantled by the crew prior to the spacecraft’s departure from the space station. the crew 8 spacecraft and its crew of nasa astronauts matthew dominick, michael barratt, and jeanette epps, as well as roscosmos cosmonaut alexander grebenkin, are scheduled to return to earth in about a week, depending on weather conditions in the splashdown zones off the coast of florida. nasa astronaut nick hague and roscosmos cosmonaut aleksandr gorbunov entered the international space station after opening the hatch between the space station and the pressurized mating adapter at 7:04 p.m. edt before opening the hatch to dragon. hague and gorbunov were welcomed by the space station’s expedition 72 crew, including nasa astronauts matthew dominick, michael barratt, jeanette epps, don petitt, butch wilmore, and suni williams, as well as roscosmos cosmonauts alexander grebenkin, alexey ovchinin, and ivan vagner. nasa’s live coverage continues through crew welcome remarks aboard the station on nasa+, youtube, and the agency’s website. learn how to stream nasa content through a variety of platforms, including social media. 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/ nasa astronaut nick hague and roscosmos cosmonaut aleksandr gorbunov arrived at the international space station sunday, as the spacex dragon freedom docked to the orbiting complex at 5:30 p.m. edt while the station was 260 statute miles over botswana. following dragon’s link up to the harmony module, the astronauts aboard the dragon and the space station will begin conducting standard leak checks and pressurization between the spacecraft in preparation for hatch opening scheduled for approximately 7:15 p.m. hague and gorbunov will join the space station’s expedition 72 crew of nasa astronauts matthew dominick, michael barratt, jeanette epps, don petitt, butch wilmore, and suni williams, as well as roscosmos cosmonauts alexander grebenkin, alexey ovchinin, and ivan vagner. for a short time, the number of crew aboard the space station will increase to 11 people until crew 8 members dominick, barratt, epps, and grebenkin return to earth in early october. nasa’s live coverage continues on nasa+, youtube, and the agency’s website. learn how to stream nasa content through a variety of platforms, including social media. 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/ the spacex spacecraft carrying crew 9 members nasa astronaut nick hague, commander, and roscosmos cosmonaut aleksandr gorbunov, mission specialist, to the international space station has safely reached orbit, and the nosecone has opened. a postlaunch news conference will be held at 3 p.m. edt at the agency’s kennedy space center in florida with the following participants: nasa will air the postlaunch news conference on nasa+ and the agency’s website. learn how to stream nasa content through a variety of platforms, including social media. at 1:29 edt, spacex’s dragon spacecraft separated from the falcon 9 rocket second stage and now is flying on its own. nasa astronaut nick hague, commander, and roscosmos cosmonaut aleksandr gorbunov, mission specialist, are on a 28.5 hour journey to the international space station. the spacecraft now is in orbit and will autonomously dock to the harmony module’s forward port. soon, the crew will open their visors and get out of their suits during the ride. once hague and gorbunov reach the orbiting laboratory, they will be greeted by nine members of the expedition 72 crew. there will be a brief overlap period before nasa’s spacex crew 8 members, nasa astronauts matthew dominick, mike barratt, and jeanette epps, as well as roscosmos cosmonaut alexander grebenkin return to earth. the four person crew has been at the orbiting laboratory since march 5, when they docked to the orbital outpost aboard the spacex dragon endeavour spacecraft. check back for updates on the mission blog, @commercial_crew on x, or commercial crew on facebook. the first stage of the spacex falcon 9 rocket has completed its descent and landed at the company’s landing zone 1 at cape canaveral space force station in florida. next, the dragon spacecraft will separate from the rocket’s second stage to continue its journey to the international space station. spacex’s falcon 9 rocket has reached max q, the moment of peak mechanical stress on the rocket. following this, first stage main engine cutoff occurred, and the first and second stages have separated from each other. the rocket’s first stage booster is scheduled to land at spacex’s landing zone 1 at cape canaveral space force station in florida. next, the falcon 9’s second stage engine will ignite to carry crew 9 and the dragon spacecraft closer to orbit. nasa’s spacex crew 9 mission lifted off at 1:17 p.m. edt from space launch complex 40 at cape canaveral space force station in florida. this marks the first time a human spaceflight mission launched from the pad. nasa astronaut nick hague and roscosmos cosmonaut aleksandr gorbunov are already experiencing 2 g while spacex’s dragon spacecraft and falcon 9 rocket go through a rapid succession of events. it is expected to take 28.5 hours for the spacecraft to autonomously dock to the space station at 5:30 p.m. edt sunday, sept. 29, while traveling 17,000 mph orbiting the earth. coming up next, the nine merlin engines on falcon 9’s first stage will burn through one million pounds of propellant during the next three minutes. nasa’s live coverage continues on nasa+ and the agency’s website. also, check back for updates on the mission blog, @commercial_crew on x, or commercial crew on facebook. the spacex falcon 9 rocket fueling is underway with rocket grade kerosene (rp 1) and first stage liquid oxygen. about 16 minutes before liftoff, liquid oxygen fueling will begin for the second stage. liftoff is the next big milestone! launch weather officers with the u.s. space force 45th weather squadron predict a 70% chance of favorable weather conditions for launch. liftoff remains scheduled for 1:17 p.m. edt from space launch complex 40 at cape canaveral space force station in florida.

nasa astronaut suni williams, one of two astronauts stuck on the international space station, ventured outside for a spacewalk on thursday for the first time since arriving on board seven months ago. ms williams and fellow astronaut butch wilmore were due to return to earth after a week long mission in june 2024 but their return has been delayed because of a technical issue. they now won't be back until late march or possibly april. ms williams   an experienced astronaut who has conducted many spacewalks during previous stays aboard the iss   teamed up with astronaut nick hague on thursday to perform maintenance on the craft. their tasks included repairing equipment that governs station orientation, patch light filters on the nicer x ray telescope, and replacing a reflector device on an international docking adapter. additionally, the pair will check access areas and connector tools that will be used for future maintenance work on the alpha magnetic spectrometer, a particle physics experiment module mounted on the iss. nasa said the six hour long spacewalk, the eighth in ms williams' career, went well and that they completed the jobs they needed to do. you can watch a recording of it here. ms williams will conduct a second spacewalk on 23 january with mr wilmore. together, they will remove a radio frequency group antenna assembly (a collection of components designed to transmit and receive radio waves) and collect surface samples for microorganism analysis. they will also prepare a backup elbow joint for the canadarm2 robotic arm by positioning the joint in the optimal configuration for a quick replacement if needed. ms williams and mr wilmore went on what was meant to be an eight day mission to the iss aboard boeing's starliner in june 2024. however, technical issues including helium leaks and thruster malfunctions meant that the starliner was unsafe for their return. nasa plans to bring them back to earth in late march aboard a spaceship built by spacex, a rival company of boeing. despite these setbacks, the astronauts have continued their work aboard the iss while awaiting a safe journey home. the asteroid named yr4 has a 1% chance of hitting earth in 2032 the znamya project had the potential to change the world. the bbc's tomorrow's world reported on an experiment that was launched in february 1993. stargazers will be treated to a rare seven planet alignment in february. this is what scientists hope to learn. watch: spacex loses starship spacecraft but catches booster on seventh test flight rocket factory augsburg (rfa) have been awarded a licence allowing them to launch rockets from shetland. copyright 2025 bbc. all rights reserved. the bbc is not responsible for the content of external sites. read about our approach to external linking.

williams and butch wilmore are scheduled to return to earth in march after a months long delay. suni williams and butch wilmore miss their families, but say work is keeping them busy. nasa astronauts sunita "suni" williams and barry "butch" wilmore have been on the international space station since june, even though they initially expected to stay for just eight days. they'll be back on earth in late march. but because their stay was extended, williams set a record on thursday. she went on a 5 hour, 26 minute spacewalk with wilmore, and with that walk, surpassed the record set by a woman for time spent on spacewalks. according to space.com, williams now has 62 hours and 6 minutes of spacewalking, surpassing former astronaut peggy whitson, who had 60 hours and 21 minutes. on this most recent spacewalk, the two worked to finally remove a faulty radio communications unit, one that astronauts on two previous spacewalks were unable to remove. williams previously teamed up with astronaut nick hague for a spacewalk on jan. 16. on that spacewalk, williams and hague replaced a rate gyro assembly that helps maintain the orientation of the orbital outpost, nasa said. the astronauts also installed patches to cover damaged areas of light filters on the neutron star interior composition explorer x ray telescope, replaced a reflector device on one of the international docking adapters, and checked access areas and connector tools that astronauts will use for future alpha magnetic spectrometer maintenance. nasa astronaut suni williams is seen outside the international space station during the jan. 16, 2025, spacewalk. the astronauts are scheduled to come home in march. but that might not be fast enough for president donald trump. "i have just asked elon musk and spacex to 'go get' the 2 brave astronauts who have been virtually abandoned in space by the biden administration," trump wrote on truth social, according to npr. "good luck elon!!!" the astronauts are far from abandoned. the delay was caused because nasa and boeing engineers discovered issues with the spacecraft that brought the astronauts into space, and chose to return that vehicle to earth without a crew. and it's unclear what musk could do, since the two are already scheduled to fly home on a capsule made by his company, spacex, and that capsule is already docked at the iss. so technically, the astronauts could go home at any time, but that would leave the space station short staffed and jeopardize projects, npr says.the two astronauts say that while they miss their families, they've still got work to keep them busy. "eventually we wanna go home," williams said in a recent news conference. "we left our families a little while ago, but we have a lot to do up here and we have to get that stuff done before we go." recently, nasa pushed back williams and wilmore's return to earth from february to late march. "nasa and spacex assessed various options for managing the next crewed handover, including using another dragon spacecraft and manifest adjustments," according to a nasa press release issued on dec. 17. "after careful consideration, the team determined that launching crew 10 in late march, following completion of the new dragon spacecraft, was the best option for meeting nasa's requirements and achieving space station objectives for 2025. the delay is so nasa and spacex teams can complete work on the mission's new dragon spacecraft. that new craft will launch four crew members to the iss    commander anne mcclain, commander, pilot nichole ayers, japanese astronaut takuya onishi, and roscosmos cosmonaut kirill peskov. once the new crew is settled, williams, wilmore, nasa astronaut nick hague and roscosmos cosmonaut aleksandr gorbunov will return to earth. but williams and wilmore aren't complaining about their extended stay. "i like everything about being up here," williams said in early december. "living in space is super fun." the astronauts are keeping busy, with williams and wilmore assisting the other iss residents in space botany studies and other research, according to nasa's iss blog. they have aided in more than 60 scientific studies in their nearly six months on board, the washington post reports. here's what you need to know about what the two astronauts are up to. wilmore, 61, and williams, 58, are veteran astronauts and are both naval officers and former test pilots. williams has been a nasa astronaut since 1998, and wilmore since 2000. both have plenty of experience in space. williams is the former record holder for most spacewalks by a woman (seven) and most spacewalk time for a woman (50 hours, 40 minutes), and in 2007, she ran the first marathon by any person in space. in 2009, wilmore piloted the space shuttle atlantis on its mission to the iss, and in 2014, he was part of the iss crew that used a 3d printer to manufacture a tool    a ratchet wrench    in space, the first time humans manufactured something off world. wilmore, as commander, and williams, as pilot, traveled to the iss on a 15 foot wide, boeing made capsule called starliner. they launched on june 5 and docked with the iss on june 6. nasa hopes starliner will give the organization a new way to get crews to and from the iss, and the fact that it's boeing made is another sign that nasa is starting to lean on the private sector for its human spaceflight options, the new york times reported. wilmore and williams' iss mission was supposed to last a mere eight days, during which they'd test out aspects of starliner and see how it operates with a human crew in space. but due to complications with starliner, the two astronauts are still up there. the astronauts have been positive about their experience. at a live news conference in september, williams said that despite knowing their mission was scheduled to take only eight days, they'd both been "training for a number of years" for it. they're fully qualified to remain in space for an extended period of time, and to help pilot the spacex dragon spacecraft that'll bring them home next year. "it's very peaceful up here," williams said on sept. 13, though she added that they miss their families back on earth. the astronauts are working on research, maintenance and data analysis during their extended stay. "we are having a great time here on iss," williams said in a news conference held from orbit in july. "i'm not complaining. butch isn't complaining that we're up here for a couple of extra weeks." wilmore and williams responding to media questions back in march. the starliner was delayed in may due to a problem with a valve in the rocket. then engineers had to fix a helium leak. that's all bad news for boeing. it's competing with spacex, which has been transporting astronauts to the iss since 2020, making over 20 successful trips to the space station. starliner finally launched, atop an atlas v rocket, on june 5, but some problems came along with it. nasa announced that three helium leaks were identified, one of which was known before flight, and two new ones. in addition to the leaks, the crew had to troubleshoot failed control thrusters, though the craft was able to successfully dock with the iss. spacex has had failures too. a falcon 9 rocket exploded on the launchpad in 2016. in july of this year, a falcon 9 rocket experienced a liquid oxygen leak and deployed its satellites in the wrong orbit, the new york times reported. and a falcon 9 rocket in late august lost a first stage booster when it toppled over into the atlantic ocean and caught fire. but that said, spacex has more than 300 successful falcon 9 flights to its credit.

manage your account when you buy through links on our articles, future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. vast space is taking big steps toward putting the first commercial space station in orbit. the california based startup recently completed a major testing milestone for the qualification vessel of its upcoming haven 1 station, a benchmark vast also used to reevaluate the launch date for the company's first flight ready module. "with the completion of our primary structure qualification test and a fully assembled team, we now have greater clarity on our build and launch schedule. as a result, we are updating our timeline," vast said in a statement. haven 1 will ride a spacex falcon 9 rocket to low earth orbit   a mission that was initially slated for this august. now, vast expects haven 1 to launch no earlier than may 2026. even with the delay, it's still an "ambitious timeline," the company said. but vast remains optimistic: "if all goes as planned, we will have designed, built, and launched the world’s first commercial space station in three years   a pace never before achieved in human spaceflight." vast began manufacturing the haven 1 qualification article at its long beach headquarters in july 2024 and transported the module to the company's test stand in mojave, california, last month. there, the module began a series of campaigns to qualify the module's structural integrity. those campaigns are ongoing, but one passed recently was a significant hurdle for the module's continued development. using dry nitrogen, vast pressurized the module on the test stand twice   the first for a duration of five hours, and the second for 48 hours. according to the company's data, haven 1's pressure sensors showed an "indiscernible" leak rate, exceeding the vessel's requirements and falling within compliance for nasa's crew rated spacecraft qualifications. image 1 of 4 image 2 of 4 image 3 of 4 image 4 of 4 that last bit is important. vast is hoping to win the bid for nasa's commercial leo destination (cld) contract in 2026, and wants to put itself ahead of the competition. with the international space station (iss) approaching retirement at the end of 2030, nasa has been eager for companies to get commercial space stations up and running. indeed, nearly half a dozen other private contenders have voiced plans to construct their own leo destinations   namely, northrop grumman, axiom space, nanoracks and sierra space. as those companies tread water while they gauge market demand or continue their station developments in the background, vast says it's on track to get haven 1 to orbit in record time, and has begun actively seeking out customers and scientists with research they want to fly to space. in the weeks ahead, the test module will be submitted to simulated launch pressures using hydraulic actuators on the mojave test stand, as well as undergo structural load tests while under pressure. even as the qualification article began its test campaign at the end of last month, vast was already manufacturing the haven 1 flight vehicle   the one going to space. matching the six month pace the qualification module took from manufacturing to its tests in mojave, vast aims to complete the primary structure for the flight module by july of this year. the company's full timeline, from now through the first crewed mission to haven 1 is as follows: related stories:   nasa looks to private outposts to build on international space station's legacy   private space station: how axiom space plans to build its orbital outpost   spacex and vast want ideas for science experiments on dragon spacecraft and haven 1 space station once haven 1 is operational in orbit, vast plans to launch a four person crew to the outpost aboard a spacex crew dragon. that mission will last about two weeks, as the astronauts check out the station's systems and habitability. looking ahead even further, vast has already unveiled its plans for haven 2, a second module design that will dock with haven 1 to increase the space station's capacity and capabilities. vast is currently targeting 2028 for the first haven 2 launch, with plans to to add to the modular station through 2032 to eventually exceed the current capabilities of the iss.
supported by two nasa astronauts, butch wilmore and suni williams, opened the hatch of the spacecraft and boarded the outpost in orbit. by kenneth chang kenneth chang reported on the three attempts of boeing’s starliner to carry butch wilmore and suni williams to the space station. there were glitches with its propulsion system, but boeing’s starliner spacecraft and the two nasa astronauts it carried successfully docked at the international space station on thursday afternoon. the docking, at 1:34 p.m. eastern time, was more than an hour later than planned, after the troubleshooting of several malfunctioning thrusters. “the team handled the pop quiz really well,” steve stich, the manager of nasa’s commercial crew program, said during a news conference thursday after the docking. “and they got all the answers right.” the two astronauts, butch wilmore and suni williams, will spend at least a week at the space station. starliner’s arrival came one day after the vehicle launched from cape canaveral space force station in florida. the docking was a major milestone for the test flight, which is to provide a final check that starliner is ready to begin once a year operational flights to ferry nasa crews for six month stays at the space station.

 when two american astronauts blasted off on a test mission to the international space station on 5 june, they were expecting to be back home in a matter of days. but things didn't quite go to plan. in fact, barry “butch” wilmore and sunita williams are still there, floating high above the earth nearly two months later. the pair   who are stuck indefinitely   now face the sudden prospect of missing the summer entirely and even spending christmas and new year in space. mr wilmore, 61, and ms williams, 58, flew a boeing starliner spacecraft to the station. it was the first flight of its kind with people on board and was a test designed to see how the new spacecraft performs before it is used more regularly. problems, however, emerged as it made its approach. these included leaks in its propulsion system and some of its thrusters shutting down. so while they made it to the space station safely, they will need an alternative mode of transport to get home if the starliner is not deemed safe to return to earth. at a news briefing on wednesday, nasa officials said no firm decisions had been made when it comes to next steps. "our prime option is to return butch and suni on starliner," steve stich, manager of nasa's commercial crew program, said.