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NASA is set to offer live coverage of Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft as it departs the International Space Station (ISS) and returns to Earth. The uncrewed spacecraft will begin its journey back to Earth with a planned landing at White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico.
.png "NASA Starliner spacecraft")
Key Dates and Coverage Details
Pre-Departure News Conference: NASA will host a pre-departure news conference on Wednesday, September 4, at 12 p.m. EDT. This event will take place at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston and will feature updates from NASA’s Commercial Crew and International Space Station Program managers, along with a flight director. The news conference will be streamed live on NASA+, the NASA app, YouTube, and the agency’s website.
Starliner Undocking: On Friday, September 6, the Starliner is scheduled to autonomously undock from the ISS at approximately 6:04 p.m. EDT, weather permitting. Live coverage of the undocking process will start at 5:45 p.m. EDT on NASA+, the NASA app, YouTube, and the agency’s website.
Return and Landing: Following undocking, coverage will resume at 10:50 p.m. EDT for the deorbit burn, entry, and landing phases. The spacecraft is expected to land at White Sands Space Harbor at around 12:03 a.m. EDT on Saturday, September 7. The post-landing news conference, which will provide further insights and updates, will begin at 1:30 a.m. EDT. Participants in this conference will include key figures from NASA and Boeing, including Joel Montalbano, Steve Stich, Dana Weigel, John Shannon, and Mark Nappi. This event will also be streamed live on NASA+, the NASA app, YouTube, and the agency’s website.
Background on Starliner’s Mission
The Starliner spacecraft, launched with astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams aboard on June 5, 2024, encountered technical issues as it approached the ISS. Helium leaks and problems with the spacecraft's reaction control thrusters prompted NASA to decide that Starliner would return to Earth uncrewed. Wilmore and Williams will remain at the ISS and return home in February 2025 aboard SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft, part of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 mission.
How to Watch and Participate
NASA encourages media personnel who wish to attend the pre-departure and post-landing news conferences to get in touch with the relevant NASA newsroom contacts by the specified deadlines. For those who cannot attend in person, the events will be accessible via various streaming platforms.
Pre-Departure News Conference: U.S. media can contact the NASA Johnson newsroom by 5 p.m. EDT on Tuesday, September 3, to attend in person or by phone.
Post-Landing News Conference: U.S. media should contact the NASA Johnson newsroom by 12 p.m. EDT on September 6 for in-person attendance or by phone.
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