Boeing and NASA delay Starliner astronaut return to June 22, nearly doubling mission length to test spacecraft
Boeing’s Starliner capsule “Calypso” will stay at the International Space Station twice as long as the mission originally planned, NASA announced Friday.
Boeing’s Starliner capsule “Calypso” will stay at the International Space Station twice as long as the mission originally planned, NASA announced Friday.
This developmental nature of the mission, known as Boeing’s crew flight test, is on display as the company and NASA are performing a variety of tests on Starliner while it’s docked with the ISS. The mission represents the first time that Starliner carries crew, with Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams set to fly the spacecraft back to Earth next week.
Before launching on June 5, Boeing and NASA planned for Starliner to be in space for nine days.
But Calypso’s mission is now expected to return to Earth on June 22 — departing the ISS at 11:42 p.m. ET on June 21 before landing roughly six and half hours later, at 6:26 a.m. ET. That means the Starliner crew flight test will now last at least 17 days, about double the original plan, for further spacecraft testing.
NASA said those tests include operating the capsule’s hatch, firing seven of its thrusters, and checking the cabin air temperature, all while the program’s managers and astronauts “finalize departure planning and operations.”
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