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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>. The unscrewed spacecraft is targeting a landing at the White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico on Saturday. 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. As Starliner approached the orbiting laboratory, NASA and Boeing identified helium leaks and experienced issues with the spacecraft reaction control thrusters. For the safety of the astronauts, NASA announced on August 24 that Starliner will return to Earth from the station without a crew. 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. 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. "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. SpaceX and Boeing are the two commercial vendors who have been tasked by NASA to send American-launched astronauts to the ISS. 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. 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. SEE ALSO: <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> <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> <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">Shree Tirupati Balajee Agro Trading IPO – Price band to risk factors, all you need to know</a>

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. 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. 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. 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. 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. "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. 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. Meanwhile, crew of the Polaris Dawn the Elon Musk-led private charted spaceflight created history when they completed the first commercial spacewalk. 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. 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. 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. 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. Once the hatch was closed, Dragon was re-pressurized, cabin oxygen and pressure levels confirmed. 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." 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. "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." The Polaris Dawn mission targeted splashdown off the coast of Florida, however SpaceX has not yet released details about the upcoming landing.

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

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. <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. 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. 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. 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." Stich added, "We're not in a rush to come home." 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. 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. 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. 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." 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." Meanwhile, Williams and Wilmore have integrated with the rest of the crew currently aboard the International Space Station and are conducting routine tasks. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. Nappi said, "We've got a really good test flight that's been accomplished so far, and it's being viewed rather negatively." 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. 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." 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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." "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. 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. 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.

Boeing Starliner with Sunita Williams onboard could wait months in space before return as NASA mulls extending mission duration

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. 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. 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." 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. 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. 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. 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." 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. 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. 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.

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

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. The flight will mark Williams' third space mission. 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. '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. 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. 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. The Starliner capsule will carry four astronauts, or a mix of crew and cargo, for NASA missions to low Earth orbit. 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. "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. 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. 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. 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. 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. On May 17 the space agency said that the launch was further pushed back to May 25. 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. 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. 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. Elon Musk-owned SpaceX company's Crew Dragon has performed 12 crewed missions since its first launch on May 30, 2020. Williams and Wilmore were both former commanders of the International Space Station. 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. 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. 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. 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. Williams worked with Roscosmos on its contribution to the space station and with the first Expedition crew. Meanwhile, 61-year-old, Wilmore has logged 178 days in space and has 25 hours and 36 minutes of time on four spacewalks. Boeing has planned six manned missions for the platform over the next six years, the projected end of the ISS' operating lifespan. 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. Boeing received over USD 4 billion in US federal funds to develop the Starliner, while SpaceX received about USD 2.6 billion. 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> <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> <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> <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>

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

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. 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. 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." 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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 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. 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. 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. Meanwhile, 61-year-old, Wilmore has logged 178 days in space and has 25 hours and 36 minutes of time on four spacewalks. 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. If successful, the Crew Test Flight could queue up Boeing to begin flying routine trips to the space station on NASA's behalf. Boeing has already planned six manned missions for the platform over the next six years, the projected end of the ISS' operating lifespan. 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. Boeing received over USD 4 billion in US federal funds to develop the Starliner, while SpaceX received about USD 2.6 billion. 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Planned crewed launch of Indian-origin astronaut Sunita Williams on Boeing's Starliner spacecraft called off

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. 
 
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. 
 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>. 
 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.” 
 
 
 
While running in space, Peake was joined by two team members on the ground running in replica Russian space suits. 
 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. 
 
In 2007, Williams had posted a four hour, twenty-four minute run time in the Boston Marathon. 
 
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.

Meet Tim Peake, the British astronaut who became the first man to complete a marathon in space

Space 2021: All the Mars landings, eclipses, astronaut flights, rocket launches, and other big missions to look for this year

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="6360701" type="DEFINITION" weightage="60" keywordseo="spacex">SpaceX</keyword>’s next <keyword id="6360409" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Nasa">NASA</keyword> astronaut mission is scheduled to launch on Halloween.</li><li>After that, the company will have at least one spacecraft in orbit continuously for the following 14 months.</li></ul>SpaceX is preparing to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-spacex-crew-1-mission-launch-late-october-2020-8">launch four NASA astronauts</a> on its <keyword id="3150656" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="crew-dragon">Crew Dragon</keyword> spaceship this Halloween — the first of six regular crewed missions the space agency has contracted from the rocket company founded by Elon Musk. (The one that concluded in August was considered a demonstration.)That's on top of the cargo resupply missions that SpaceX will regularly launch to the <keyword id="6382020" type="LOCATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="international-space-station">International Space Station</keyword> for NASA. The company has been sending a spaceship designed to carry supplies, called Cargo Dragon, to the orbiting laboratory since 2012. That vehicle has made more than 20 trips to the station and back.Combined, the two types of Dragon spacecraft are scheduled to launch into space seven times over the next 14 months, leading to an unprecedented situation for SpaceX.<div type="image" title="Spacex crew dragon launch" height="900" width="1440" msid="78553877" hostid="261"></div>"Every time there's a Dragon launch, there'll be two Dragons in space," Benji Reed, director of crew mission management at SpaceX, said at a press conference earlier this month. That's because each of the crewed SpaceX missions should overlap for a little while. The company's next astronaut mission, called Crew 1, launches at the end of the month, then the next one, Crew-2, is scheduled to launch in late March 2021. But the <keyword id="9717263" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="crew-1">Crew-1</keyword> astronauts don't plan to leave the space station until April. The same thing should happen with the following mission, Crew-3: It's expected to launch in September 2021, so should tag up with Crew-2 in orbit.The Crew-1 crew includes NASA astronauts Shannon Walker, Mike Hopkins, and Victor Glover, as well as <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/spacex-starship-dearmoon-crew-japanese-astronaut-soichi-noguchi-yusaku-maezawa-2020-9">Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Soichi Noguchi</a>. Hopkins is to be the mission commander, Glover the pilot, and Walker and Noguchi mission specialists.<div type="image" title="soichi noguchi victor glover shannon walker nasa jaxa astronauts spacex spacesuits portrait crew 1 dragon spaceship mission KSC 20200924 PH SPX01_0009_orig" height="2000" width="3000" msid="78553879" hostid="261"></div><h2>NASA's 'next era in <keyword id="1064783" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="human-spaceflight">human spaceflight</keyword>'</h2>Before SpaceX launched NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley to the space station in May on its Crew Dragon, NASA hadn't been able to fly its own astronauts to space since 2011, when it <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/spacex-rocket-launch-nasa-astronauts-demo2-commercial-crew-mission-history-2020-5">ended its space-shuttle program.</a>The partnership with SpaceX was the product of the space agency's Commercial Crew Program, which put private firms in competition for billions of dollars' worth of government contracts. SpaceX and <keyword id="6357957" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="boeing">Boeing</keyword> came out on top. Once the program is complete, NASA will have doled out more than $8 billion in awards and contracts over about a decade.Boeing is <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-astronaut-jeanette-epps-joins-first-operational-boeing-crew-mission-to-space/">expected to launch</a> its first crewed CST-100 Starliner spaceship in December 2021. The Starliner-1 crew consists of commander Sunita Williams, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-astronaut-jeanette-epps-boeing-starliner-first-black-iss-crewmember-2020-8">mission specialist Jeanette Epp</a>s, and pilot Josh A. Cassada – all NASA astronauts. The fourth member has not yet been announced. But before Boeing launches humans into space, it has to retry an uncrewed demonstration mission on Starliner, because the attempt in December failed: Starliner entered orbit successfully, but <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/why-boeing-cst-100-starliner-spaceship-mission-failed-docking-iss-2019-12">failed to rendezvous</a> with the space station <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-investigating-potentially-catastrophic-boeing-spaceship-error-2020-2">due to potentially "catastrophic" software errors</a> that NASA then investigated. The vehicle also saw problems on its way back to Earth.Until Starliner is ready for spaceflight, Crew Dragon remains the only ship the US has to carry people to and from the space station — hence the crew changeovers will, for the foreseeable future, all be on SpaceX missions. <div type="image" title="spacex crew dragon spaceship docking international space station iss may 31 2020" height="1423" width="2156" msid="78553881" hostid="261"></div>NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine has said he envisions "the next era in human spaceflight" to be one in which NASA can be one of many customers in a "robust commercial marketplace."In addition to Commercial Crew, NASA is forming other partnerships with private industry to bring in revenue. In September, <a href="https://www.space.com/estee-lauder-skincare-filming-on-space-station.html">the agency announced</a> a $128,000 deal with Estée Lauder to carry 10 bottles of the cosmetics company's Advanced Night Repair serum to the space station, where crew members will shoot videos and images. <div type="image" title="tom cruise" height="2608" width="3759" msid="78553885" hostid="261"></div>In October 2021, Tom Cruise and "Mission Impossible: Edge of Tomorrow" director Doug Liman are slated to <a href="https://deadline.com/2020/05/tom-cruise-movie-shot-in-outer-space-elon-musk-spacex-unprecedented-in-hollywood-1202925849/">travel to the ISS</a> on a SpaceX tourist mission, where they'll shoot the first major blockbuster in space. NASA is also in talks with US production company Space Hero, Inc. to produce <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/the-first-space-reality-show-send-1-lucky-winner-iss-2020-9">the first reality TV series filmed in space</a>.

Double Dragon: SpaceX plans to have at least 1 spaceship – and sometimes 2 – in space for the next 14 months without a break

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="6360409" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Nasa">NASA</keyword> said Tuesday that <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/female-nasa-astronaut-jeanette-epps-artemis-lunar-landing-mission-2019-9">astronaut Jeanette Epps</a> will launch aboard <keyword id="6357957" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="boeing">Boeing</keyword>'s new <keyword id="8472813" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="CST-100-Starliner">CST-100 Starliner</keyword> spaceship in 2021.</li><li>NASA previously selected Epps for a 2018 flight, but the agency <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ap-nasa-bumps-astronaut-off-june-spaceflight-in-rare-move-2018-1">abruptly removed her</a> from that mission just months ahead of its launch.</li><li>Had she made the flight, Epps would have been the first Black person to live and work aboard the International Space Station for months at a time.</li><li>Epps is one of 16 <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/astronauts/biographies/active" target="_blank" rel="noopener">active</a> female <keyword id="73998" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="astronauts">astronauts</keyword> who may one day land on the moon with NASA's Artemis program.</li></ul>NASA astronaut <keyword id="9824103" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="jeanette-epps">Jeanette Epps</keyword> may finally be traveling to space.The agency <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-astronaut-jeanette-epps-joins-first-operational-boeing-crew-mission-to-space" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> Tuesday that it has assigned the 49-year-old rookie astronaut to Boeing's Starliner-1 mission, slated to launch sometime in 2021.The mission is actually the second that NASA picked Epps to fly. But she never made the first one, a Russian Soyuz flight that <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ap-trio-of-astronauts-blast-off-to-international-space-station-2018-6" target="_blank" rel="noopener">lifted off</a> in June 2018, because the agency abruptly bumped her from the crew about five months ahead of launch."I don't know where the decision came from and how it was made, in detail, or at what level," <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/why-jeanette-epps-nasa-astronaut-taken-off-iss-mission-2018-6">Epps said</a> during <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXxJ2OUgaiU&amp;t=2170s170s">a conference</a> in 2018 conference, but <a href="https://spacenews.com/nasa-astronaut-still-baffled-by-removal-from-iss-mission/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">noted</a> it was not medically related. "There were Russians, several of them, who defended me in the sense that it's not safe to really remove someone from a crew that has trained together for years."NASA told Business Insider in a statement that a "number of factors are considered when making flight assignments," adding that "decisions are personnel matters for which NASA doesn't provide information."Despite the disappointing turn of events, Epps kept her composure over the years."Sometimes things don't go the way that you planned," she told "<a href="https://www.facebook.com/BusinessInsiderToday/">Business Insider Today</a>" in 2019. "But I'm still in the astronaut corps."With her fresh assignment, Epps is once again poised to make history. The mission is to scheduled to be the first operational flight of Boeing's <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/boeing-software-errors-jeopardized-starliner-spaceship-737-max-planes-2020-2">CST-100 Starliner</a> spacecraft, which should follow an uncrewed launch (possibly later this year) and a crewed flight test in 2021.<h2>Epps will live and work aboard the space station for half a year</h2><div type="image" title="international space station" height="2832" width="3776" msid="77752307" hostid="261"></div>NASA selected Epps, an aerospace engineer, to be an astronaut in 2009. Prior to that, she worked at Ford Motor Company as a research scientist before moving on to the Central Intelligence Agency, where she was as a technical intelligence officer for more than seven years, according to her <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/astronauts/biographies/jeanette-j-epps/biography" target="_blank" rel="noopener">biography</a>.The Starliner-1 mission's destination is the International Space Station, a facility that orbits 250 miles above Earth, and which people have inhabited continuously for <a href="https://www.issnationallab.org/about/iss-timeline/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">20 years</a>. During her new upcoming mission, Epps will live and work aboard the $150 billion, football field-size laboratory for about six months.Epps has not yet flown to space. She will join fellow spaceflight rookie <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/astronauts/biographies/josh-a-cassada/biography" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Josh Cassada</a> and veteran <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/astronauts/biographies/sunita-l-williams/biography" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sunita Williams</a>. Williams, the Starliner-1 mission's commander, has <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-astronaut-suni-williams-on-spacex-boeing-spaceships-2018-6">worked with Boeing and SpaceX</a> over the past six years on the design and functionality of their new <keyword id="1313914" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="spaceships">spaceships</keyword> through NASA's <keyword id="1046834" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Commercial-Crew-program">Commercial Crew Program</keyword>."I can't wait for her to join our crew," Williams said in a video she <a href="https://twitter.com/Astro_Suni/status/1298280432379793408" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tweeted</a> on Tuesday.Cassada tweeted <a href="https://twitter.com/astro_josh/status/1298286008686055427" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a humorous video</a> congratulating Epps, who grew up in Michigan, on her crew assignment."Just a couple of things I think we need to get sorted out. I know we both claim Michigan, I'm not going to arm-wrestle you for it — I've seen you in the gym. So maybe we can split it?" Cassada said. "The only other thing we need to get sorted out is, on the Starliner, I call shotgun."Starliner launched and landed on its first uncrewed mission, called <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/boeing-cst-100-starliner-spaceship-orbital-flight-test-mission-rescue-2019-12">Orbital Flight Test</a>, in December 2019. However, the spacecraft experienced two "<a href="https://blogs.nasa.gov/commercialcrew/2020/03/06/nasa-update-on-orbital-flight-test-independent-review-team/">high visibility close calls</a>" that might have resulted in the loss of the spacecraft, NASA said earlier this year.<div type="image" title="boeing cst 100 starliner spaceship nasa commercial crew program ccp orbital flight test oft landing white sands new mexico 49258250868_0e5795b4a9_3k" height="1173" width="1564" msid="77752309" hostid="261"></div>Boeing is now fixing its software, systems, and procedures to rectify the problems, and — at a cost of <a href="https://spacenews.com/boeing-takes-410-million-charge-to-cover-potential-additional-commercial-crew-test-flight/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">$410 million</a> to the company — plans to refly the mission later this year. Assuming there are no further issues, veteran astronaut Mike Fincke, retired astronaut Chris Ferguson, and <a href="https://blogs.nasa.gov/commercialcrew/2018/08/03/meet-the-astronauts-flying-boeings-crew-flight-test/">rookie astronaut</a> Nicole Mann will fly the first experimental crewed flight in 2021.NASA appears unfazed by <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/international-space-station-small-air-leak-nasa-says-no-danger-2020-8">a small air leak</a> aboard the ISS, which a three-person crew is currently helping root out and repair.Had NASA allowed Epps to fly on the 2018 Soyuz mission, she would have been the first <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/arnaldo-tamayo-mendez-first-black-person-astronaut-cosmonaut-reach-orbit-2020-6">Black astronaut</a> to live and work aboard the ISS for an extended amount of time. However, that honor will likely go to <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/astronauts/biographies/victor-j-glover/biography" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Victor Glover</a>, who's slated to fly NASA's next commercial mission with people, called <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-spacex-crew-1-mission-launch-late-october-2020-8">Crew-1</a>. (SpaceX <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/spacex-crew-dragon-spaceship-nasa-astronauts-mission-landing-surprises-demo2-2020-8">successfully</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/spacex-launches-historic-rocket-mission-nasa-astronauts-demo-2-2020-5">launched</a> and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/spacex-safely-splashes-down-nasa-astronauts-crew-dragon-demo2-mission-2020-8">returned</a> its <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-astronauts-doug-hurley-bob-behnken-biography-spacex-demo2-2020-5">first astronaut crew</a> on an experimental flight earlier this year.)Similar to Starliner-1, the Crew-1 mission will be SpaceX's first operational flight of its commercial spaceship, called Crew Dragon. That mission is slated to fly to the space station <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-spacex-crew-1-mission-launch-late-october-2020-8">as soon as October 23</a>, and Glover will launch with fellow astronauts <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/astronauts/biographies/shannon-walker/biography" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Shannon Walker</a> and <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/astronauts/biographies/michael-s-hopkins/biography" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mike Hopkins</a>, as well as JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut <a href="https://iss.jaxa.jp/en/astro/biographies/noguchi/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Soichi Noguchi</a>. The Starliner-1 mission could prove especially important to Epps' career, in that she is one of 16 active female astronauts in NASA's corps who may <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/moon-missions-why-astronauts-have-not-returned-2018-7">return humans to the moon</a>. Jim Bridenstine, the agency's administrator, has repeatedly said NASA's <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-artemis-moon-base-apollo-space-rocket-sls-2019-9">Artemis program</a> will fly the first woman and the next man to the lunar surface in 2024."Business Insider Today" asked Epps about that possibility during a 2019 interview."It's mind-blowing to think about being the first [woman] to step on this object that you see in the night sky," she said. "I would hope that my mission would inspire the next generation of women, of all engineers and all scientists to kind of propel us forward, even beyond Mars."Correction (9:00 p.m. ET): NASA astronaut Victor Glover is poised to be the first Black person to live and work aboard the International Space Station for an extended time, not Jeanette Epps, as a previous version of this story stated. We regret the error.This story has been updated with new information.

NASA just selected astronaut Jeanette Epps for a historic space mission by Boeing — 2 years after the agency abruptly bumped her from a first flight

<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>Four astronauts have returned to Earth with <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk">Elon Musk</a>'s SpaceX after issues with <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-faa-should-punish-boeing-starliner-not-spacex-9">Boeing's Starliner delayed their mission</a>.<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>.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.They took off on March 4 aboard SpaceX's reusable spacecraft, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/spacex-crew-dragon-capsule-what-its-like-inside-2018-8">Crew Dragon</a> Endeavour, which was launched by a <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/spacex-falcon-9-launches-updates-schedule">Falcon 9</a> rocket.Routine space missions usually last about six months, and Crew-8 was initially scheduled to return home in August.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.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.Crew-8's return was further postponed to install extra seats on Endeavour for Wilmore and Williams in case of an emergency evacuation.Then, Hurricane Milton caused poor weather conditions in the planned splashdown zone near Florida, adding to the delay.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>.

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

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Elon Musk said the FAA should punish Boeing for its Starliner fiasco rather than fining SpaceX for "trivia."</li><li>The head of the FAA pushed back, saying both companies should be treated equally, per Reuters.</li></ul>The head of the Federal Aviation Administration has pushed back against <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk">Elon Musk's</a> claim that the agency should punish Boeing for its Starliner failures rather than impose "petty" fines on SpaceX.FAA administrator Mike Whitaker said Boeing and SpaceX should be treated equally after <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-faa-should-punish-boeing-starliner-not-spacex-9">Elon Musk attacked the regulator for fining his rocket company "for trivia"</a> and said it should focus on Boeing's Starliner issues instead."I think Boeing and SpaceX should have the same oversight. They should all have safety management systems. They should all have whistleblower programs," said Whitaker, in comments to reporters on Tuesday <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.reuters.com/technology/space/faa-chief-defends-spacex-civil-penalty-launch-delay-2024-09-24/">reported by Reuters</a>.In a <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1836923457960919224?s=46&amp;t=bkmJfZuvxzKCaiQCsNuiTw">post on X</a> last week, Musk railed against the FAA's proposed $633,000 fine for SpaceX over two instances where the rocket company violated its launch licenses."NASA deemed the Boeing capsule unsafe for astronaut return, turning, out of necessity, to SpaceX, yet instead of fining Boeing for putting astronauts at risk, the FAA is fining SpaceX for trivia," the billionaire SpaceX founder wrote.<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-stranded-astronauts-return-nasa-boeing-starliner-spacex-crew-dragon-2024-8">A SpaceX rocket is set to return Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams</a>, the two astronauts left stranded on the International Space Station by Boeing's malfunctioning Starliner spacecraft, to Earth next year.Starliner ultimately returned from orbit without any passengers after the craft <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/starliner-stuck-space-threatens-boeing-plans-rival-elon-musk-spacex-2024-8">experienced a series of helium leaks on its first crewed voyage</a>, leading NASA to turn to SpaceX instead in a huge blow for Boeing.Whitaker defended the $633,000 fine at a <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KL1uHhYCa-c">US House of Representatives hearing on Tuesday</a>, telling lawmakers that SpaceX needs to operate at the "highest level of safety."He said the rocket firm had violated agency rules by launching satellites into orbit without the correct permit — which <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://x.com/SpaceX/status/1838694004277547121">SpaceX slammed as incorrect</a>.SpaceX is also engaged in a <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-spacex-beef-with-regulators-over-starship-launch-delay-2024-9">war of words with the aviation regulator over delays to the next launch of Starship</a>, the giant rocket Musk wants to use to travel to Mars.Earlier this month, the company said it didn't expect to get approval to launch Starship for the fifth time until November, two months later than expected.Musk <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1833557568326930760">criticized the delay on X</a>, writing that humanity will "never get to Mars if this continues."Whitaker also defended the delay in the next Starship launch at the House hearing, stating that Musk's company had failed to complete an updated sonic boom analysis and had failed to comply with Texas law.The FAA and SpaceX did not immediately respond to requests for comment sent outside normal working hours.

You Searched For "sunita williams in space" and got 12 results

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

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

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Boeing Starliner with Sunita Williams onboard could wait months in space before return as NASA mulls extending mission duration

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

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

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

ANI

Meet Tim Peake, the British astronaut who became the first man to complete a marathon in space

Poulomi Das

Space 2021: All the Mars landings, eclipses, astronaut flights, rocket launches, and other big missions to look for this year

Morgan McFall-Johnsen,Susie N…

Double Dragon: SpaceX plans to have at least 1 spaceship – and sometimes 2 – in space for the next 14 months without a break

Susie Neilson

NASA just selected astronaut Jeanette Epps for a historic space mission by Boeing — 2 years after the agency abruptly bumped her from a first flight

Dave Mosher

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

Pete Syme

FAA chief says Boeing and SpaceX should be treated the same after Elon Musk accuses regulator of playing favorites

Tom Carter

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