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<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/nasakennedy/27997318958/">NASA/Kim Shiflett</a></span></p><p class="caption">NASA astronaut and Commercial Crew member Sunita Williams in March 2018.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>After nearly a decade of effort, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/category/spacex">SpaceX</a> and <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/category/boeing">Boeing</a> are preparing to launch the first NASA astronauts on commercial spaceships.</p><p>Boeing's <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/category/cst-100-starliner">CST-100 Starliner</a> and SpaceX's <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/category/crew-dragon">Crew Dragon</a> may fly their first crews in December and January. The goal of NASA's Commercial Crew program, as it's called, is to taxi astronauts to and from the $150-billion <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/space-station-trump-plan-problems-astronaut-risk-2018-5">International Space Station</a>. Accomplishing that would close an increasingly <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-commercial-crew-spacex-boeing-delays-russia-space-station-2018-1">expensive gap</a> in the US' space travel capabilities.</p><p>In 2015, NASA selected astronaut <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/astronauts/biographies/sunita-l-williams/biography" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sunita "Suni" Williams</a> and three other "<a href="https://blogs.nasa.gov/bolden/2015/07/09/nasa-selects-astronauts-for-first-u-s-commercial-space-flights/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">space pioneers</a>" to test then fly the new spaceships.</p><p>"Five years ago, this would have been like, 'No way, what are we doing asking commercial providers to be able to do this?'" Williams told Business Insider. "Now it feels like a natural progression for space travel."</p><p>Williams has flown inside three spaceships, served as commander of the International Space Station, lived in orbit for 322 days, and piloted 30 different types of aircraft for the Navy.</p><p>This extensive resume has come in handy over the past three years, as Williams has worked closely with Boeing and SpaceX. She and her colleagues have poked and prodded spacecraft mock-ups, tried on new spacesuits, fiddled with control panels, tested out simulators, and provided frank and sometimes critical feedback.</p><p>Here's why NASA needs Boeing and SpaceX, what Williams thinks of their new ships and suits, and how she's preparing to blast off into the uncharted territory of a <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/falcon-heavy-space-race-elon-musk-spacex-blue-origin-2018-2">new space race</a>.</p><p class="tagline">Get the latest Boeing stock price <a href="http://markets.businessinsider.com/stock/BA-Quote">here.</a></p>

This veteran NASA astronaut has tried SpaceX and Boeing's new spaceships and spacesuits - here's what she thinks

Boeing's Starliner spacecraft is set to detach from the orbiting <keyword id="19985509" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="International-Space-Station" source="keywords">International Space Station</keyword> on Friday (local time) and return to Earth, without the astronauts <keyword id="21544825" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Sunita-Williams" source="keywords">Sunita Williams</keyword> and Butch Wilmore as per the US space agency <keyword id="19935155" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="NASA" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="NASA" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="NASA">NASA</keyword>.<br /><br />The unscrewed spacecraft is targeting a landing at the White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico on Saturday.<br /><br />NASA astronauts Barry "Butch" Wilmore and Sunita "Suni" Williams launched aboard Boeing's Starliner spacecraft on June 5 for its first crewed flight, arriving at the space station on June 6. It was expected that the two astronauts would have returned in the same flight.<br /><br />As Starliner approached the orbiting laboratory, NASA and Boeing identified helium leaks and experienced issues with the spacecraft reaction control thrusters. <br /><br />For the safety of the astronauts, NASA announced on August 24 that Starliner will return to Earth from the station without a crew. <br /><br />Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams finished packing Starliner with cargo and configuring its cabin for return. The duo closed Starliner's hatch for the final time on Thursday afternoon readying the spacecraft for its uncrewed departure, NASA said.<br /><br />Wilmore and Williams will remain aboard the International Space station and return home in February 2025 aboard the <keyword id="19905255" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="SpaceX" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="SpaceX" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="SpaceX">SpaceX</keyword> Dragon spacecraft with two other crew members assigned to NASA's SpaceX Crew-9 mission.<br /><br />"Starliner is scheduled to autonomously undock from the space station at approximately 6:04 pm EDT Friday, September 6, to begin the journey home, weather conditions permitting. NASA and Boeing are targeting approximately 12:03 am, Saturday, September 7, for the landing and conclusion of the flight test," NASA said.<br /><br />SpaceX and Boeing are the two commercial vendors who have been tasked by NASA to send American-launched astronauts to the ISS.<br /><br />Both Williams and Wilmore are not expected to use the Crew Dragon spacecraft of Crew-9 the next SpaceX astronaut mission for NASA that is set to launch later this month of a ISS half year mission.<br /><br />To make space for the <keyword id="21541868" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Boeing-Starliner" source="keywords">Boeing Starliner</keyword> astronauts who are now on the ISS, Crew 9's Crew Dragon will launch from earth with only two astronoauts instead of the planned four. <br /><br /><strong>SEE ALSO:<br /><br /><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/mobile/news/india-beats-the-us-to-emerge-as-the-second-biggest-market-for-5g-smartphones/articleshow/113095322.cms">India beats the US to emerge as the second-biggest market for 5G smartphones</a><br /><br /><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/mobile/news/apple-iphone-16-to-launch-on-september-9-design-specs-and-everything-we-know-so-far/articleshow/113091114.cms">Apple iPhone 16 to launch on September 9 – design, specs and everything we know so far</a><br /><br /></strong><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/webstories/shree-tirupati-balajee-agro-trading-ipo-price-band-to-risk-factors-all-you-need-to-know/slidelist/113082663.cms"><strong>Shree Tirupati Balajee Agro Trading IPO – Price band to risk factors, all you need to know</strong></a><br />

Boeing's Starliner to return to Earth from ISS without Sunita Williams

Washington DC: <keyword id="19935155" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="NASA" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="NASA" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="NASA">NASA</keyword> astronauts Sunita 'Suni' Williams and Barry 'Butch' Wilmore will put a call to Earth and participate in a press conference aboard the <keyword id="19985509" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="International-Space-Station" source="keywords">International Space Station</keyword> in low Earth orbit, the US space agency said.<br /><br />The space call is scheduled at 2:15 p.m. EDT (local time) on September 13 to the newsroom at NASA's Johnson Space Centre in Houston.<br /><br />The pair had launched aboard Boeing's Starliner spacecraft on June 5 for its first crewed flight, arriving at the space station on June 6.<br /><br />A decision was made to return Starliner to Earth without its crew and the spacecraft successfully returned on September 6 after more than three months in space. It made a safe landing at White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico.<br /><br />Both astronauts <keyword id="21544825" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="Sunita-Williams" source="keywords">Sunita Williams</keyword> and Butch Wilmore called down to flight controllers to thank teams for their support before the uncrewed Starliner spacecraft returned to Earth.<br /><br />"You guys it's time to bring Calypso home. We have your backs and you have got this. Bring her back to Earth," Sunita Williams said in the radio message referring to the spacecrafts nickname.<br /><br />Both the astronauts will remain on the international space station as part of the Expedition 71/72 crew and return home in February 2025 aboard the <keyword id="19905255" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="SpaceX" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="SpaceX" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="SpaceX">SpaceX</keyword> Dragon spacecraft with two other crew members on NASA's SpaceX Crew-9 mission.<br /><br />Meanwhile, crew of the Polaris Dawn the Elon Musk-led private charted spaceflight created history when they completed the first commercial spacewalk.<br /><br />Donning newly-designed SpaceX extravehicular activity (EVA) suits, the crew began their approximately two-hour operation at 3:12 a.m. EDT while traveling at 17,500 miles per hour in an elliptical orbit of 190 x 700 km above the EarthThe spacewalk represents an important milestone of the Polaris Program, a developmental program designed to further the advancement of human spaceflight.<br /><br />After opening the hatch, the Polaris Dawn crew became the first four astronauts to be exposed to the vacuum of space at the same time, the company said in a statement.<br /><br />Over approximately twenty minutes, Commander Jared Isaacman and Mission Specialist Sarah Gillis egressed the vehicle, completed a series of tests designed to evaluate the suit's mobility, thermal systems and the Dragon mobility aid "Skywalker" before returning to the cabin and closing the hatch.<br /><br />Mission Pilot Scott "Kidd" Poteet and Mission Specialist and Medical Officer Anna Menon supported Isaacman and Gillis throughout the entire operation monitoring vital support systems.<br /><br />Once the hatch was closed, Dragon was re-pressurized, cabin oxygen and pressure levels confirmed. <br /><br />Reflecting on his experience, mission commander and billionaire Isaacman, who financed the mission reflected on the experience: "SpaceX, back at home we all have a lot of work to do, but from here, Earth sure looks like a perfect world."<br /><br />NASA Administrator Bill Nelson relayed good wishes to SpaceX and the Polaris Dawn crew in a statement on X. "Congratulations @PolarisProgram and @SpaceX on the first commercial spacewalk in history!" Nelson wrote.<br /><br />"Today's success represents a giant leap forward for the commercial space industry and @NASA's long-term goal to build a vibrant U.S. space economy."<br /><br />The Polaris Dawn mission targeted splashdown off the coast of Florida, however SpaceX has not yet released details about the upcoming landing. <br /><br />

NASA astronaut Sunita Williams to address Earth from orbiting international Space Station

The launch of Boeing's Starliner spacecraft, scheduled to carry <keyword id="19939779" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="NASA-astronauts" source="keywords">NASA astronauts</keyword> <keyword id="21544825" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Sunita-Williams" source="keywords">Sunita Williams</keyword> and Barry Wilmore to the International Space Station (ISS) was on Monday (local time) postponed after a valve glitch in the upper stage of the rocket set to propel it to space.<br /><br />Rocket company United Launch Alliance's Tom Heter III the director overseeing the launch announced the decision to delay the launch about two hours before the expected lift off from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, United States.<br /><br />NASA announced on social media platform X that the problem was identified with an oxygen valve on part of ULA's Atlas 5 rocket and that the space agency, Boeing and ULA have "scrubbed the launch opportunity on May 6 for the agency's Boeing Crew Flight Test to the International Space Station due to a faulty oxygen relief valve observation on the Atlas V rocket Centaur second stage. The crew and rocket remain safe and more information will be forthcoming."<br /><br />It said that NASA astronauts Wilmore and Williams exited the Starliner spacecraft at Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida and will return to astronaut crew quarters.<br /><br />This would have marked the first human crewed flight for Starliner with Indian origin Sunita "Suni" Williams piloting the craft with fellow NASA pilot Barry "Butch" Wilmore. Boing had designed Starliner to rival the Dragon capsule of Elon Musk's SpaceX which carried out its crewed flight test in May 2020. SpaceX has handled most of NASA's crew transportation needs since then.<br /><br />However, just two hours before the scheduled launch, a valve glitch in the rocket's upper stage forced mission managers to call off the mission. It was a frustrating setback for Wilmore and Williams, both seasoned astronauts ventured to space on two previous journeys aboard NASA space shuttle and Russian Soyuz missions and had impressive backgrounds in naval aviation. The disappointment was tangible as they unstrapped from their seats, their hopes of soaring into space momentarily grounded, CBS News reported.<br /><br />Incidentally Sunita Williams has named the spacecraft "Calypso" for her love of the ocean and in reference to the ship of famed explorer <keyword id="21556039" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="jacques-cousteau" source="keywords">Jacques Cousteau</keyword>, who sailed across the world on his own ship named bearing the same name.<br /><br />Despite the setback, the seasoned duo maintained their composure, knowing that space travel demands patience and resilience. Clad in their distinctive Boeing pressure suits, Wilmore and Williams awaited news of the next launch window, ready to embark on their celestial journey at the earliest opportunity, as reported by CBS News.<br /><br />The Atlas 5 rocket, renowned for its reliability, stood ready for its milestone 100th flight - to launch Boeing's Crew Space Transportation (CST)-100 Starliner spacecraft. The plan was that following separation from Atlas 5, Starliner engines will burn taking it the rest of the way to orbit and on to the International Space Station, according to ULA. <br /><br />The Atlas 5 had successfully launching scientific spacecraft to Mars on five different occasions, plus research investigations to the Sun, the Moon, Jupiter, the Asteroid Bennu and Pluto <br /><br />The Atlas 5 consists of two major components: a booster and Centaur, its so-called upper stage. Starliner sits on top of Centaur, which in turn rests on the booster. The booster powers everything off the launchpad. During the flight, Centaur is designed to separate from the booster, propelling Starliner into a proper orbit. Then, Starliner separates from Centaur and flies on its own.<br /><br />It has delivered US national security assets into space, launched weather observatories that all Americans depend upon and deployed commercial satellites to connect the world.<br /><br />Williams, selected as an astronaut by NASA in June 1998, has spent a total of 322 days in space on two missions and accumulated 50 hours and 40 minutes of cumulative EVA time on seven spacewalks. Williams worked with Roscosmos on its contribution to the space station and with the first Expedition crew.<br /><br />Meanwhile, 61-year-old, Wilmore has logged 178 days in space and has 25 hours and 36 minutes of time on four spacewalks.<br /><br />NASA has been waiting half a decade for Starliner to begin flying crew, and the development of Starliner was beset by years of delays, setbacks and blunders. More broadly, Boeing as a company has suffered years of scandals in its aircraft division that have tarnished the legacy aerospace giant's brand, CNN reported.<br /><br />If successful, the Crew Test Flight could queue up Boeing to begin flying routine trips to the space station on NASA's behalf. <br /><br />Boeing has already planned six manned missions for the platform over the next six years, the projected end of the ISS' operating lifespan.<br /><br />NASA plans to use both SpaceX's Dragon and Boeing's Starliner to send up astronauts at least every six months from US soil. Both Boeing and SpaceX were given the responsibility in 2014 by NASA to send commercial crew missions to the ISS.<br /><br />Boeing received over USD 4 billion in US federal funds to develop the Starliner, while SpaceX received about USD 2.6 billion.<br /><br /><b>SEE ALSO:<a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/webstories/indegene-ipo-company-details-to-risk-factors-all-you-need-to-know/slidelist/109888922.cms" target="_blank"></a></b><br /><br /> <b><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/webstories/indegene-ipo-company-details-to-risk-factors-all-you-need-to-know/slidelist/109888922.cms" target="_blank">Indegene IPO: Company details to risk factors, all you need to know</a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/worldwide-tablet-shipments-grow-in-q1-2024-after-two-years-of-decline/articleshow/109876390.cms" target="_blank"></a></b><br /><br /> <b><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/worldwide-tablet-shipments-grow-in-q1-2024-after-two-years-of-decline/articleshow/109876390.cms" target="_blank">Worldwide tablet shipments grow in Q1 2024 after two years of decline</a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/asus-zenbook-duo-review/articleshow/109875023.cms" target="_blank"></a></b><br /><br /> <b><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/asus-zenbook-duo-review/articleshow/109875023.cms" target="_blank">Asus ZenBook Duo review – an excellent dual-screen laptop for multitaskers</a></b><br />

Planned crewed launch of Indian-origin astronaut Sunita Williams on Boeing's Starliner spacecraft called off

<p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div>There's been a lot of buzz about NASA's goal to land the first humans on Mars by the 2030s, but who those people will be remained unknown.<p>Now, the day has come for NASA to announce the members of its latest Commercial Crew Program, the same program they've said will one day take us to Mars.</p><p>On Thursday, July 9, NASA announced that these four people will go down in history as the first astronauts of NASA's Commercial Crew Program.</p><p>They are: Robert Behnken, Sunita Williams, Eric Boe, and Douglas Hurley.</p><p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div><p>The Commercial Crew Program is the successor to NASA's 30-year-old Space Shuttle Program with the goal to once again send NASA astronauts to the International Space Station from American soil. Once that feat is accomplished, we'll be the closest to Mars we've been yet.</p><p>The new NASA astronauts will immediately begin training in preparation for their ride into space, which is currently slated for 2017.</p><p>After NASA's Space Shuttle Program retired in 2011, NASA was forced to rely on Russia to send its astronauts into space. And it still does for $76 million per seat. The agency's new program will cut the cost by nearly a third, explains NASA Administrator Charles Bolden:</p><p>"On an American-owned spacecraft, the average cost will be $58 million per astronaut," he said in the <a href="https://blogs.nasa.gov/bolden/2015/07/09/nasa-selects-astronauts-for-first-u-s-commercial-space-flights/">NASA statement</a> announcing the four astronauts.</p><p>In 2017, NASA hopes that companies like SpaceX and Boeing will launch this latest crew to the ISS.</p><p>Now learn more about the crew in these informative, yet brief, introduction videos:</p><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6KTnohSNCsI">Robert Behnken discusses</a> the importance of NASA's partnership with companies like SpaceX:</p><div><div></div></div><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOLY3qdW7Tc">Sunita Williams says</a><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"> "this is the next step":</span></p><div><div></div></div><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUr5jNa5Mmc">Eric Boe</a> talks about why he wanted to get involves with this program:</p><div><div></div></div><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4Hn5ags6ho">Douglas Hurley</a> highlights the efforts of all involved:</p><div><div></div></div>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/prevent-blisters-jogging-running-shoes-sneakers-athletic-shoelace-hole-2015-5">Someone figured out the purpose of the extra shoelace hole on your running shoes - and it will blow your mind</a></h3>        <div>            <div>        <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="lyNnMwdToPHeoBdqEnriXIBVrqyIR6er" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>        </div>        </div>            </div>

NASA just announced the 4 astronauts who'll jumpstart the mission that will take us to Mars

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/nasakennedy/28557696438/">SpaceX</a></span></p><p class="caption">NASA astronaut and Commercial Crew member Sunita "Suni" Williams tests a mock-up of SpaceX's Crew Dragon spaceship and spacesuit in April 2018.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><ul><li><strong><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/category/spacex" target="_blank" rel="noopener">SpaceX</a> and Boeing designed and built new spacesuits for NASA's Commercial Crew program.</strong></li><li><strong><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/category/spacesuits" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Spacesuits</a> can protect astronauts if a spaceship unexpectedly leaks or depressurizes.</strong></li><li><strong>Sunita "Suni" Williams, who's slated to fly inside the first commercial orbital spaceships, has worn SpaceX and <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/category/boeing" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Boeing</a>'s spacesuits.</strong></li><li><strong>"They're both better than suits that we've had in the past," she told Business Insider.</strong></li></ul><p>Every next-generation spaceship needs a great spacesuit, and one NASA astronaut says Boeing and SpaceX are delivering.</p><p>Following nearly 10 years of work, both of those aerospace companies may launch brand-new spaceships for NASA by the end of the summer, though without people aboard. If those test flights go well, the first launches of astronauts on commercial spacecraft could follow by the end of the year.</p><p>The work is part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program, a roughly $8 billion competition for private companies to develop ships that can taxi astronauts to and from the $150-billion <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/space-station-trump-plan-problems-astronaut-risk-2018-5">International Space Station</a> (and end <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-commercial-crew-spacex-boeing-delays-russia-space-station-2018-1">reliance on Russia</a> to make the journey).</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span><a href="http://www.boeing.com/space/starliner/#/gallery">Boeing</a></span></p><p class="caption">Former astronaut Chris Ferguson wears Boeing's CST-100 Starliner spacesuit.</p></div><p></p></div></div>In January 2017, Boeing showed off its <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/boeing-spacesuit-nasa-photos-2017-1">CST-100 Starliner spacesuit</a> for the first time. Elon Musk, the founder of SpaceX, followed with his own <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-spacex-spacesuit-2017-8">spacesuit reveal for the Crew Dragon</a> <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-spacex-spacesuit-2017-8"></a>vehicle in August.</p><p>Astronaut <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/astronauts/biographies/sunita-l-williams/biography" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sunita "Suni" Williams</a> and three other "<a href="https://blogs.nasa.gov/bolden/2015/07/09/nasa-selects-astronauts-for-first-u-s-commercial-space-flights/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Commercial Crew Cadre</a>" team members have worked closely with both companies over the past three years. They've <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-astronaut-suni-williams-on-spacex-boeing-spaceships-2018-6">provided critical feedback</a> on the ship designs and, of course, the spacesuits.</p><p>"Five years ago, this would have been like, 'No way, what are we doing asking commercial providers to be able to do this?'" Williams told Business Insider. "Now it feels like a natural progression for space travel."</p><p>Here's what Williams, who's spent 322 days in space, thinks of the suits.</p><h2>The importance of a spacesuit</h2><p>There's no such thing as one-size-fits-all spacesuit. Some, like the extravehicular mobility unit, are big, bulky, and used only when astronauts are building or making repairs to the International Space Station. Hypothetical spacesuits for Mars <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/spidersuit-mars-astronauts-lockheed-nasa-2017-5">might one day have spider legs</a> to crawl across the red planet's moons.</p><p>One thing is constant in the world of spacesuits, though: Every crewed launch vehicle has its own lightweight flight suit.</p><p>"They have to all do the same thing," Williams said. "They all have to be able to protect you."</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/nasa2explore/9401290529/">NASA</a></span></p><p class="caption">Williams dons a Russian Sokol flight suit in March 2007. The suit is part of the Soyuz launch system.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>That's because bad things can happen quickly to a human body when a spacecraft is leaking or otherwise compromised.</p><p>A rapid loss of air and pressure - and exposure to the vacuum of space - will cause gases inside a person's organs to expand or bubble out of blood and tissues. This will make a person pass out in <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/how-long-human-survive-outer-space-without-spacesuit-2017-5">about 15 seconds</a>. That's too little time to understand the scope of a major problem, let alone take corrective action or make a fix.</p><p>Spacesuits hedge against such catastrophe by cocooning astronauts in their own sealed-off life-support system.</p><p>"The spacecraft and it's environmental control system dictates some of the spacesuit capability, and both of these providers came up with their own spacecraft, and their own environmental control system," Williams said. "They came up with their own spacesuit that works with it. So we see some differences there."</p><p>There are some commonalities between the two new suits, though.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/nasakennedy/32141923950/">NASA Kennedy/Flickr</a></span></p><p class="caption">Boeing's CST-100 Starliner spacesuit.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>"We'll have an umbilical for both suits to provide breathing air as well as cooling air," Williams said, referring to a hose-like tube that connects a spacesuit to a ship's life-support system. "You're gonna have your visor open for some of the time, you're going to have your visor closed for other parts of the time - and that's why you need air to be coming in through the umbilical."</p><p>This way, if a surprise leak or other problem occurs, astronauts will have a fighting chance to save a mission and themselves.</p><p>Williams said Russia's Sokol flight suit, which she and other astronauts wear aboard the Soyuz spacecraft, "is an awesome suit." But she noted that the new SpaceX and Boeing designs "look a little bit better" and are more comfortable, thanks to newer materials.</p><h2>The Boeing CST-100 Starliner and SpaceX Crew Dragon spacesuits</h2><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/nasakennedy/38796771514/">SpaceX</a></span></p><p class="caption">The spacesuit and Crew Dragon spaceship that SpaceX will use to launch NASA astronauts into space.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>NASA retired its space shuttle program in July 2011, forcing the agency to rely solely on Russia's Soyuz spacecraft to get astronauts to and from the space station. The commercial crew program, however, will give NASA astronauts newer, cheaper, US-made options to get to the ISS.</p><p>SpaceX's Crew Dragon and Boeing's CST-100 Starliner capsules will each seat up to seven people, as the space shuttle did. Williams said each spacesuit will be fitted to a reclined seat for extra safety, similar to the Soyuz capsule.</p><p>"You're going to land essentially on your back," Williams said. "You want to be able to take that impact."</p><p>Typical space shuttle suits weighed about 33 lbs (15 kilograms), while Boeing's new suit weighs about 12 lbs (5.4 kilograms).</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/nasakennedy/31677349444/">NASA Kennedy/Flickr</a></span></p><p class="caption">Boeing's CST-100 Starliner spacesuit.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>"The blue suit that Boeing has, it has a zipper in the front that'll accommodate a straighter posture," Williams said.</p><p>Standing up straight in a suit is typically difficult because they're designed to fit a reclined posture in a seat. And once inflated, they become very taut - like a balloon made out of tough and sometimes inflexible materials.</p><p>SpaceX's suit is also easier to move around in than all other spacesuits Williams has worn, she said.</p><p>"The SpaceX one has like a motorcycle helmet that comes down and in clips in easy," she said. "An outer cover layer makes the suit look a little bit more slim-lined."</p><p>Elon Musk, the founder of SpaceX and its lead designer, wrote about tests of the suit last year <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BYIPmEFAIIn" target="_blank" rel="noopener">on Instagram</a>. "Already tested to double vacuum pressure. Was incredibly hard to balance esthetics [sic] and function," he said. "Easy to do either separately."</p><p>For her part, Williams is eager to wear one of the suits on an actual flight - though she doesn't know which company's spaceship and suit she'll use first.</p><p>"They're both different, and they're both better than suits that we've had in the past," she said. "It's gonna be fun to put a new spacesuit on."</p><h2>When the spacesuits might see their first use</h2><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/spacexphotos/16512864369/">Flickr/SpaceX</a></span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>The Commercial Crew program will launch uncrewed ships first. SpaceX is aiming to do that in August and Boeing in November. If successful, Boeing may launch its first crew in November 2018 and SpaceX in December 2018.</p><p>SpaceX will launch Crew Dragon spaceships with its Falcon 9 rocket. Boeing will launch CST-100 Starliners on United Launch Alliance's Atlas 5 rockets.</p><p>Both companies maintain <a href="https://blogs.nasa.gov/commercialcrew/2018/01/11/nasas-commercial-crew-program-target-test-flight-dates-2/">optimistic target launch dates</a>, but the Commercial Crew program is anything but certain. A <a href="https://www2.jpl.nasa.gov/calendar/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">site</a> maintained by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory suggests SpaceX's crewed launch will actually be in January, 2019. And Spaceflight101.com's International Space Station <a href="http://spaceflight101.com/iss/iss-calendar/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">calendar</a> suggests a crewed launch attempt by either Boeing or SpaceX on December 31, 2018 or January 17, 2019.</p><p>"Everything's not been tied up, not quite yet," Williams said.</p><p>In fact, crewed launch dates could slip to mid-2019. Williams said she expects NASA to announce her official mission selection this summer, and from there about a year of more deliberate mission training will follow.</p><p>NASA originally wanted crewed launches to happen in 2017, but delays snowballed due to the agency's stringent safety concerns. It wants Boeing and SpaceX's spacecraft to have less than a 1-in-200 chance of killing a crew in an accident - three times less than the space shuttle's performance record.</p><p>Williams said she and the other Commercial Crew team members are aware of the risks they're taking.</p><p>"This is our profession and this is what we're supposed to do. I think everybody will be up to the challenge and ready to go when the spacecraft are ready," she said. "Everybody believes, or they wouldn't be here, that what we're doing is for a bigger purpose."</p><p class="tagline">Get the latest Boeing stock price <a href="http://markets.businessinsider.com/stock/BA-Quote">here.</a></p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/how-long-human-survive-outer-space-without-spacesuit-2017-5">Here's how long humans could survive in space without a spacesuit</a></h3>        <div>                    </div>    </div>

This seasoned NASA astronaut wore SpaceX and Boeing's new spacesuits - here's what she thinks of them

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Four astronauts splashed down Friday after eight months on board the ISS.</li><li>Their return to Earth was delayed to deal with issues related to Boeing's Starliner.</li></ul><p>Four astronauts have returned to Earth with <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk">Elon Musk</a>'s SpaceX after <span>issues with </span><a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-faa-should-punish-boeing-starliner-not-spacex-9"><span>Boeing's Starliner delayed their mission</span></a>.</p><p><a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/spacex-elon-musk">SpaceX</a> Crew-8 splashed down off the coast of Pensacola, Florida at 3:29 a.m. ET on Friday, NASA <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/back-on-earth-nasas-spacex-crew-8-mission-splashes-down-off-florida/">said</a>.</p><p>NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt, and Jeanette Epps, as well as Alexander Grebenkin from Russia's Roscosmos space agency, spent almost eight months on the International Space Station.</p><p>They took off on March 4 aboard SpaceX's reusable spacecraft<span>, </span><a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/spacex-crew-dragon-capsule-what-its-like-inside-2018-8"><span>Crew Dragon</span></a><span> Endeavour, which was </span>launched by a <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/spacex-falcon-9-launches-updates-schedule">Falcon 9</a> rocket.</p><p>Routine space missions usually last about six months, and Crew-8 was initially scheduled to return home in August.</p><p>However, Crew-8's time in space was extended as NASA investigated <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/boeing-starliner-spaceship-delays-astronauts-return-earth-2024-6">helium leaks on the Boeing Starliner</a> mission that launched in June.</p><p>The Starliner astronauts Barry E. Wilmore and Sunita Williams were supposed to be in space for eight days but are now set to return after eight months.</p><p>Crew-8's return was further postponed to install extra seats on Endeavour for Wilmore and Williams in case of an emergency evacuation.</p><p>Then, Hurricane Milton caused poor weather conditions in the planned splashdown zone near Florida, adding to the delay.</p><p>Boeing's Starliner spacecraft returned uncrewed last month. Wilmore and Williams are scheduled to leave the ISS in February 2025 on board <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/spacex-launches-half-empty-dragon-spaceship-boeing-astronaut-crew-return-2024-9">SpaceX Crew-9</a>.</p>

Elon Musk's SpaceX brings ISS astronauts back to Earth after Boeing Starliner problems delayed their return

<br />
The <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=LONDON+MARATHON&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">London Marathon</a> which was held yesterday saw an unlikely participation in the form of <keyword id="1052148" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Tim-Peake">Tim Peake</keyword>, the British <keyword id="34120" type="POSITION" weightage="100" keywordseo="astronaut">astronaut</keyword> who at the time was orbiting above the Earth on the International Space Station.<br />
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The 44-year-old spaceman saw London’s roads under his feet in real time on an iPad as miles below him, over 37,000 runners simultaneously took to the streets for Britain’s biggest mass participation race.<br />
<br /> As if <keyword id="32311" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="running">running</keyword> the 26.2 mile distance while strapped to a treadmill aboard the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=ISS&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">International Space Station</a> wasn’t enough, Peake also set a world(?) record for the fastest <keyword id="6397749" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Marathon">marathon</keyword> in <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=SPACE&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">space</a>.<br />
<br /> The astronaut, who is on a six-month stint on the <keyword id="6416825" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="ISS">ISS</keyword>, was also the official starter of the marathon and he sent the runners a good luck video message from the station in the 10-second countdown to the race that ended with “I hope to see you all at the finish line.”<br />
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While running in space, Peake was joined by two team members on the ground running in replica Russian space suits.<br />
<br /> He finished the race at 3:35:21 which was several minutes behind his 1999 <keyword id="27218" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="London-Marathon">London Marathon</keyword> time of 3:18:50 which he clocked on Earth, but it was enough to take the title of the fastest space marathon away from <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=sunita+williams&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Sunita Williams</a>, who incidentally was the first astronaut to run a marathon in space.<br />
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In 2007, Williams had posted a four hour, twenty-four minute run time in the Boston Marathon.<br />
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On the other hand, the race winner, Kenya's Eliud Kipchoge, finished the marathon at 2:03:05, which was the second fastest time ever recorded.<br />
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Meet Tim Peake, the British astronaut who became the first man to complete a marathon in space

Two <keyword id="19939779" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="NASA-astronauts" source="keywords">NASA astronauts</keyword> <keyword id="21967665" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Barry-Wilmore" source="keywords">Barry Wilmore</keyword> and <keyword id="21544825" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="Sunita-Williams" source="keywords">Sunita Williams</keyword> have no planned date to return to Earth and they are waiting aboard the <keyword id="19985509" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="International-Space-Station" source="keywords">International Space Station</keyword> (ISS) amid several mechanical issues with Boeing's <keyword id="20138728" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="starliner" source="keywords">Starliner</keyword> spacecraft, ABC News reported. <br /><br />The two <keyword id="19935155" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="NASA" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="NASA" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="NASA">NASA</keyword> astronauts were scheduled to return on June 14. However, the pair has no set date to return to Earth as their return has been delayed multiple times. In a statement, Steve Stich, manager of NASA's <keyword id="20430894" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Commercial-Crew-Program" source="keywords">Commercial Crew Program</keyword>, said, "We are taking our time and following our standard mission management team process," according to ABC News report. <br /><br />Stich added, "We are letting the data drive our decision-making relative to managing the small helium system leaks and thruster performance that we observed during rendezvous and docking."<br /><br />The Starliner with flight commander Barry "Butch" Wilmore and flight pilot Sunita "Suni" Williams onboard was launched from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Florida on June 5. The Starliner arrived at the ISS on June 6. <br /><br />The mission is part of the larger Commercial Crew Program at NASA, which wanted to see whether Boeing's spacecraft could be certified to carry out routine missions to and from the ISS.<br /><br />Boeing and NASA have said the crew is currently not in danger as they are aboard the ISS with plenty of supplies in orbit and the schedule of the station is relatively open through mid-August. NASA and Boeing said Wilmore and Williams are "integrated" with the Expedition 71 crew aboard the ISS and are assisting the crew with operations of the station as needed and completing "objectives" required for NASA's possible certification of Starliner, ABC News reported. <br /><br />In a statement, Mark Nappi, vice president and program manager of Boeing's Starliner program, said, "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."<br /><br />Starliner has faced several issues, even before launch. The flight test was originally tentatively scheduled for May 6. However, it was delayed after a problem with an oxygen valve on a rocket from United Launch Alliance (ULA), which makes and operates the rockets that launch spacecraft into orbit.<br /><br />The launch date was later set for May 25. However, a small helium leak was found in the service module, which comprises support systems and instruments for operating a spacecraft, ABC News reported. <br /><br />Helium leaks and a thruster issue then threatened to delay the docking of Starliner. After docking at the ISS for five days, NASA and Boeing said the spacecraft was experiencing five "small" helium leaks. At the time, NASA and Boeing said enough helium was available for the return mission. <br /><br />

No planned date to return to Earth for two NASA astronauts due to issues with Boeing Starliner spacecraft

<p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div><ul><li><strong><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/spacex" target="_blank" rel="noopener">SpaceX</a> and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/boeing" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Boeing</a> built new spaceships for NASA to fly its astronauts into orbit.</strong></li><li><strong>NASA's <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/commercial-crew-program" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Commercial Crew Program</a>, as it's called, will soon launch launch one uncrewed and two crewed test flights of each new spacecraft.</strong></li><li><strong>On Friday, NASA plans to announce the eight astronauts who will fly either SpaceX's <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/crew-dragon" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Crew Dragon</a> or Boeing's <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/cst-100-starliner" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CST-100 Starliner</a> ships for the first time.</strong></li><li><strong>NASA TV is broadcasting video of the announcement live from Texas.</strong></li></ul><p>NASA is about to name the&#xa0;<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-commercial-crew-spacex-boeing-astronaut-selection-2018-7">first astronauts</a> ever to fly commercial spaceships.</p><p>On Friday, the space agency plans to announce crews for the first flights of SpaceX's Crew Dragon and Boeing's CST-100 Starliner. NASA will broadcast video of the announcement, and you can watch live starting around 11 a.m. EDT via the embed at the end of this post.</p><p>The announcement is a big deal because the last American crew-carrying spacecraft - NASA's fleet of four space shuttle orbiters - retired in July 2011. Since then, NASA has been forced to rely solely on Russia's <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-buying-russian-soyuz-seats-2019-2017-1">increasingly expensive</a> Soyuz spaceships to get to the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/space-station-trump-plan-problems-astronaut-risk-2018-5">International Space Station</a> (ISS), in which the US government has invested about $100 billion.</p><p>SpaceX and Boeing's new spacecraft are shaping up to be two solutions to that problem. They're both the result of NASA's Commercial Crew Program: a nearly 10-year-long, $8-billion effort to maintain access to orbit for US astronauts.</p><p>However, both companies still have to prove that their vehicles can fly to the ISS and return safely to Earth.</p><p>To certify that the Crew Dragon and CST-100 Starliner are ready to become NASA's new go-to space taxis, SpaceX and Boeing are each planning three test missions. Flights without any people are expected before the end of 2018, followed by two crewed missions sometime in 2019. (The first test flights were originally slated to launch in 2017, but the program didn't meet that deadline.)</p><p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table full click-to-enlarge"><div><div class="image on-image"><a title_source="NASA/Kennedy Space Center (via Flickr); Boeing; Shayanne Gal/Business Insider" title_caption="An illustration of SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft (left) and Boeing's CST-100 Starliner spacecraft (right)." class="zoomin" href="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5b60b2478ea82f1d008b4970-960/nasa-spacex-boeing-cst-100-starliner-crew-dragon-spaceships-spacecraft-illustration-business-insider-shayanne-gal-.png"><span class="sprites click-to-enlarge-icon" title="Click to enlarge"></span></a><p class="source"><span>NASA/Kennedy Space Center (via Flickr); Boeing; Shayanne Gal/Business Insider</span></p><p class="caption">An illustration of SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft (left) and Boeing's CST-100 Starliner spacecraft (right).</p></div><p></p></div></div>Four of the eight astronauts will almost certainly be Bob Behnken, Eric Boe, Doug Hurley, and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-astronaut-suni-williams-on-spacex-boeing-spacesuits-2018-6">Sunita "Suni" Williams</a>. Sometimes called the "Commercial Crew Cadre," those astronauts are seasoned veterans who've worked closely with Boeing and SpaceX on their new spacecraft and systems over the past three years.<p>The other four astronauts that NASA has selected, however, aren't yet publicly known. (However, Boeing also plans to launch a third person on its first crewed mission: Chris Ferguson, a company employee and retired NASA astronaut,&#xa0;<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/business/wp/2018/07/24/feature/nasa-trained-boeing-employed-chris-ferguson-hopes-to-make-history-as-a-company-astronaut/">according to the Washington Post</a>.)</p><p>NASA plans to announce its final decision on the crews - two astronauts for each of the four crewed test flights - on Friday morning.</p><p>You can watch NASA's Commercial Crew Program mission selection event live via NASA TV, which is streaming video from Johnson Space Center in Texas.</p><p>Around 11 a.m. EDT on Friday, August 3, return to this page and click the player below.</p><p><br>If the feed doesn't load for any reason, you can also try to watch via <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwMDvPCGeE0" target="_blank" rel="noopener">YouTube</a>, <a href="https://www.ustream.tv/nasahdtv" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ustream</a>, or the space agency's <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">NASA TV website</a>.</br></p><p class="tagline">Get the latest Boeing stock price <a href="http://markets.businessinsider.com/stock/BA-Quote">here.</a></p><div></div>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/living-on-iss-2017-5">Here's how astronauts carry out simple, everyday tasks in space</a></h3>        <div>                    </div>    </div></hr>

NASA is naming 8 astronauts to fly SpaceX and Boeing's new spaceships - here's how to watch the announcement live

Indian-origin <keyword id="21544825" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Sunita-Williams" source="keywords">Sunita Williams</keyword>' piloted 'Starliner' is set to launch into space on Saturday, after the joint mission of US space agency <keyword id="19935155" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="NASA" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="NASA" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="NASA">NASA</keyword> and aircraft major Boeing was previously hit by snags.<br /><br />The flight will mark Williams' third space mission.<br /><br />According to NASA, the flight to the orbiting International Space Station (<keyword id="20307956" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="ISS" source="keywords">ISS</keyword>) is scheduled to lift off from Florida's Kennedy Space Centre around 10 pm Indian Standard Time today.<br /><br />'Suni' Williams and fellow NASA <keyword id="20248602" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="astronaut" source="keywords">astronaut</keyword> Barry 'Butch' Wilmore will be the first humans to go aboard Starliner spacecraft as part of the US space agency's Commercial Crew Program.<br /><br />The Starliner spacecraft will be catapulted into space on an Atlas 5 rocket of the rocket company United Launch Alliance (ULA). It will dock with the ISS on Sunday and the astronauts will be at the ISS conducting a range of tests for about a week. Starliner will then undock from the ISS re-enter Earth's atmosphers and make a parachute and airbag-assisted landing in the southwestern United States on June 10, NASA said.<br /><br />If this mission is successful, NASA will begin the final process of certifying Starliner and its systems for crewed rotation missions to the International Space Station.<br /><br />The Starliner capsule will carry four astronauts, or a mix of crew and cargo, for NASA missions to low Earth orbit. <br /><br />NASA, Boeing, and ULA (United Launch Alliance) are ready for the June 1, launch of the agency's Boeing Crew Flight Test according to an announcement during a prelaunch media briefing from NASA's Kennedy Space Centre in Florida.<br /><br />"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" he said.<br /><br />The integrated ULA Atlas 5 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. <br /><br />Both Williams and Wilmore had remained in preflight quarantine inside the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building following their return to the Florida spaceport on May 28.<br /><br />Mission managers of the <keyword id="21541868" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Boeing-Starliner" source="keywords">Boeing Starliner</keyword>'s Crewed Test Flight (CFT) called off the mission on May 7, just two hours before the scheduled launch due to a valve glitch in the Atlas 5 rocket's upper stage. Boeing said in its statement that the valve was successfully replaced on May 11 and tested to confirm it was working properly.<br /><br />Later on May 14, NASA announced that the CFT mission scheduled for May 17 has been pushed to no later than May 21 due to what it described as a "small helium leak" in the spacecraft's service module.<br /><br />On May 17 the space agency said that the launch was further pushed back to May 25.<br /><br />The flight marking Boeing's first Starliner spacecraft mission with a human crew, is part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program, which is working with the US aerospace industry through a public-private partnership to launch astronauts on American rockets and spacecraft from US soil.<br /><br />NASA selected Boeing and SpaceX in September 2014 to transport crew to the International Space Station from the United States. These integrated spacecraft, rockets and associated systems will carry up to four astronauts on NASA missions, maintaining a space station crew of seven to maximize time dedicated to scientific research on the orbiting laboratory.<br /><br />After a failed attempt in December 2019, Boeing conducted a successful uncrewed Orbital Flight Test 2 (OFT-2) in 2022. Its Starliner is expected to be reusable for up to ten missions within a six-month turnaround time, according to the aerospace company.<br /><br />Elon Musk-owned SpaceX company's Crew Dragon has performed 12 crewed missions since its first launch on May 30, 2020.<br /><br />Williams and Wilmore were both former commanders of the International Space Station.<br /><br />Williams, from Needham, Massachusetts, earned a physical science degree from the US Naval Academy, and a master's in engineering management from the Florida Institute of Technology. <br /><br />Her first spaceflight was Expedition 14/15 (from December 2006 to June 2007) launching on space shuttle Discovery's STS-116 mission to reach the International Station, according to NASA.<br /><br />While onboard, Williams established a world record for women at the time with four spacewalks. She concluded her tour of duty by returning to Earth with shuttle Atlantis' STS-117 flight to land at Edwards Air Force Base in California on June 22, 2007.<br /><br />Selected as an astronaut by NASA in June 1998, Williams has spent a total of 322 days in space on two missions and accumulated 50 hours and 40 minutes of cumulative EVA time on seven spacewalks.<br /><br />Williams worked with Roscosmos on its contribution to the space station and with the first Expedition crew.<br /><br />Meanwhile, 61-year-old, Wilmore has logged 178 days in space and has 25 hours and 36 minutes of time on four spacewalks.<br /><br />Boeing has planned six manned missions for the platform over the next six years, the projected end of the ISS' operating lifespan.<br /><br />NASA plans to use both SpaceX's Dragon and Boeing's Starliner to send up astronauts at least every six months from US soil. Both Boeing and SpaceX were given the responsibility in 2014 by NASA to send commercial crew missions to the ISS.<br /><br />Boeing received over USD 4 billion in US federal funds to develop the Starliner, while SpaceX received about USD 2.6 billion.<br /><br /><b>SEE ALSO:<a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/auto/news/upcoming-cars-and-two-wheelers-launching-in-india-in-june-2024/slidelist/110591467.cms" target="_blank"></a></b><br /><br /> <b><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/auto/news/upcoming-cars-and-two-wheelers-launching-in-india-in-june-2024/slidelist/110591467.cms" target="_blank">Upcoming cars and two-wheelers launching in India in June 2024</a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/lok-sabha-exit-poll-2024-what-are-they-when-will-they-be-announced-and-all-you-need-to-know/articleshow/110565608.cms" target="_blank"></a></b><br /><br /> <b><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/lok-sabha-exit-poll-2024-what-are-they-when-will-they-be-announced-and-all-you-need-to-know/articleshow/110565608.cms" target="_blank">Lok Sabha Exit Poll 2024 – what are they, when will they be announced and all you need to know</a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/mobile/news/huawei-beats-samsung-to-take-the-top-spot-in-global-foldable-smartphone-shipments/articleshow/110583786.cms" target="_blank"></a></b><br /><br /> <b><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/mobile/news/huawei-beats-samsung-to-take-the-top-spot-in-global-foldable-smartphone-shipments/articleshow/110583786.cms" target="_blank">Huawei beats Samsung to take the top spot in global foldable smartphone shipments</a></b><br />

Sunita Williams flies to ISS on NASA's Boeing Starliner tonight; 3rd time in space for Indian-origin astronaut

Projected to last only days, the first crewed test flight of <keyword id="19915275" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Boeing" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Boeing" meta.hostid="153" meta.entityid="Boeing">Boeing</keyword>'s <keyword id="20138728" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="starliner" source="keywords">Starliner</keyword> <keyword id="19982902" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="spacecraft" source="keywords">spacecraft</keyword> with two <keyword id="20038917" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="astronauts" source="keywords">astronauts</keyword> onboard is in limbo with no exact return to Earth announced.<br /><br /><keyword id="19935155" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="NASA" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="NASA" meta.hostid="153" meta.entityid="NASA">NASA</keyword>'s <keyword id="20430894" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Commercial-Crew-Program" source="keywords">Commercial Crew Program</keyword> manager, Steve Stich has said that the US space agency is considering extending the duration of Starliner's mission from 45 days to 90 days, CNN reported.<br /><br />Officials have repeatedly hinted that the Starliner, which faced issues with helium leaks and thruster outages heading to the International <keyword id="20073557" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="space-station" source="keywords">Space Station</keyword> in early June, will be safe to bring astronauts including indian-origin Sunita 'Suni' Williams and Butch Wilmore home.<br /><br />On Friday, Stich said that NASA is considering extending the maximum length of Starliner's mission from 45 days to 90 days and there is no firm return date on the horizon, according to CNN report. <br /><br />Addressing a briefing on Friday, the NASA official said, "We're just looking at the timeline to execute (the test in New Mexico) and then review the data." He further said, "And that's what's really the long pole, I would say, determining a landing date."<br /><br />Stich added, "We're not in a rush to come home." <br /><br />Part of that desired extension is due to the ground tests that Boeing and NASA plan to conduct in New Mexico, seeking to better understand why some of the Starliner's thrusters unexpectedly failed during the first leg of its journey.<br /><br />Stich and Mark Nappi, vice president and program manager of the Commercial Crew Program for Boeing, also said that engineers are still not certain about the reason behind the Starliner's problems.<br /><br />Nappi said that part of the aim is conducting the ground tests while the vehicle is still in space is to try to whittle down possible reasons why the thrusters malfunctioned.<br /><br />Mark Nappi said, "So, if (the test in New Mexico) comes back and gives us all the answers, then we can just undock and come home."<br /><br />He added, "If it comes back and says, 'Here's 80 per cent of the answer. And if you just run one more docked hot fire (test on the Starliner in orbit), then you can get 100 per cent of the answers' -- then we want (Starliner) to be there so that we can get that information."<br /><br />Meanwhile, Williams and Wilmore have integrated with the rest of the crew currently aboard the International Space Station and are conducting routine tasks.<br /><br />Several more helium leaks were identified while the craft was heading to the International Space Station, along with the thruster issues. The Starliner's service module, a cylindrical attachment at the bottom of the spacecraft that provides much of the vehicle's power during flight, faced several issues, CNN reported. <br /><br />As per the design, the service module will not survive the return to Earth. The module is jettisoned and destroyed as the Starliner spacecraft reenters the atmosphere and that's the reason why Boeing and NASA teams then opted to leave the Starliner spacecraft safely docked with the space station while they worked to learn as much as possible about those issues.<br /><br />It is not clear yet whether NASA will extend the maximum mission length to 90 days. Stich said officials must clear the battery life of the Starliner for that purpose. Although he noted that the batteries are being recharged at the space station, they should operate the same way after 90 days as they will for the first 45 days. <br /><br />The spaceflight industry frequently experiences cost overruns, delays and unmet deadlines. However, Boeing has faced challenges that have stood out, particularly when the Starliner program is directly compared with SpaceX's Crew Dragon, CNN reported. <br /><br />Crew Dragon, which falls under the same NASA Commercial Crew Program for astronaut transportation, completed its first test flight in 2020 and has been carrying out routine missions ever since.<br /><br />SpaceX did not have the benefit of designing the Crew Dragon spacecraft off the back of its Cargo Dragon vehicle, which for years sent supplies to the International Space Station before its successor started operating while Boeing designed Starliner from scratch.<br /><br />Nappi said, "We've got a really good test flight that's been accomplished so far, and it's being viewed rather negatively." <br /><br />In the latest update regarding the ongoing space mission, the Expedition 71 crew members on Friday packed a US cargo craft, cleaned up the International Space Station, studied techniques of futuristic piloting, and carried out eye exams.<br /><br />NASA's Boeing Crew Flight Test astronauts spent the day reconfiguring a space botany facility. In its live blog, NASA stated, " Robotics controllers are scheduled to detach the Cygnus space freighter from the Unity module on July 12 and release it into Earth orbit for disposal over the South Pacific Ocean ending a five-and-a-half-month mission at the orbital lab."<br /><br />NASA Flight Engineer Matthew Dominick spent most of the time on Friday on loading trash and discarding gear inside the Cygnus with assistance from fellow NASA astronauts Jeanette Epps and Tracy C Dyson. Canadarm2 robotic arm captured the Cygnus on February 1, with more than 8200 pounds of science experiments and crew supplies. <br /><br />Epps operated standard medical imaging gear found in an optometrist's office on Earth and peered into Dyson's eyes. She examined the cornea, retina, and lens of Dyson to help flight surgeons understand and counteract microgravity's effect on crew vision.<br /><br />Earlier, Dyson collected and stowed excess space station hardware for disposal. During the day, NASA Flight Engineer Mike Barratt routed cables and reprogrammed communications systems inside the Columbus laboratory module.<br /><br />He stowed hardware and components used earlier in the week for advanced orbital plumbing in the Tranquility module's bathroom. Mike Barratt refilled supply kits in Columbus' two Human Research Facility racks with biomedical gear, including sample tubes and needles.<br /><br />On Friday, Starliner's Commander and Pilot, Butch Wilmore and <keyword id="21544825" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="Sunita-Williams" source="keywords">Sunita Williams</keyword> in Kibo conducted space botany work. They removed the Plant Habitat growth chamber from Kibo's EXPRESS rack, replaced its camera and carbon dioxide sensors, then reinstalled the research device. <br /><br />In the liveblog, NASA said, "NASA and Boeing continue to evaluate Starliner's propulsion system performance before returning to Earth from the orbiting lab. NASA and Boeing leaders participated in a media teleconference today to discuss Starliner and station operations."<br /><br />"NASA is now targeting the end of July for the next spacewalk outside the space station. This change allows teams on the ground to continue to troubleshoot and understand the water leak in the service and cooling umbilical unit that forced an early end to a spacewalk on Monday, June 24," it added. <br /><br />Flight Engineer Nikolai Chub practiced planetary spacecraft and robotic piloting techniques future crew members and conducted two sessions of an investigation exploring ways to create new materials on the lunar surface.<br /><br />Meanwhile, Flight Engineer Alexander Grebenkin worked throughout the day inventorying medical kits and cleaning fans inside the Rassvet module and Station Commander Oleg Kononenko replaced thermal components in Roscosmos' life support hardware.<br />

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