NASA Announces News Conference And Return To Earth For Starliner
The upcoming events surrounding Boeing’s Starliners’ departure from the International Space Station and return to Earth will be covered live by NASA. The unmanned spacecraft is scheduled to arrive at White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico after leaving the orbiting laboratory.
At roughly 6:04 p.m. EDT on Friday, September 6, Starliner is expected to autonomously undock from the space station and, weather allowing, start the journey home. The landing and end of the flight test are scheduled for Saturday, September 7, at 12:03 a.m., per NASA and Boeing.
On NASA+, the NASA app, and the agency website, NASA will webcast live coverage of the return and related events. Discover how to broadcast NASA content on several channels, such as social media
NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston will host a pre-departure news conference on Wednesday, September 4, at 12 p.m., ahead of Starliner’s return. Participating will be program managers from NASA’s Commercial Crew and International Space Station, as well as a flight director.
U.S. journalists are required to get in touch with the NASA Johnson newsroom by 5 p.m. on Tuesday, September 3, at jsccommu@mail.nasa.gov or 281-483-5111, in order to attend the pre-departure news conference in person. Media are required to reach out to the NASA newsroom at least two hours before the commencement of the pre-departure press conference by phone.
Boeing’s Starliner spaceship made its first crewed trip on June 5 with NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, who arrived at the space station on June 6. Starliner’s reaction control thrusters malfunctioned and NASA and Boeing discovered helium leaks as the spaceship got closer to the orbiting laboratory. NASA declared on August 24 that Starliner will return to Earth from the station without a crew for the astronauts’ safety. Together with two other crew members assigned to NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 mission, Wilmore and Williams will stay on the station and make their way back home in February 2025 onboard the SpaceX Dragon spaceship.
The following is a list of the areas covered by NASA (all times Eastern; subject to vary based on real-time operations):
On Wednesday, September 4.
12 p.m.: NASA’s Johnson Space Center will host a pre-departure news conference about Starliner, which will be streamed on NASA+, the NASA app, YouTube, and the company website.
September 6th, Friday
5:45 p.m. On NASA+, the NASA app, YouTube, and the agency website, undocking coverage starts.
Undocking at 6:04 p.m.
10:50 p.m.: On NASA+, the NASA app, YouTube, and the agency website, coverage of the deorbit burn, entry, and landing continues.
September 7th, Saturday
12:03 a.m.: Landing target
1:30 a.m.: Following landing, a press conference with the following attendees
- Joel Montalbano, NASA Headquarters, is Washington, DC’s deputy associate administrator for the Space Operations Mission Directorate
- Steve Stich is the manager of NASA Kennedy Space Center’s Commercial Crew Program in Florida.
- NASA’s International Space Station manager, Dana Weigel Johnson
- Vice President of Boeing Exploration Systems John Shannon
- Vice president and program manager for the Boeing Commercial Crew Program is Mark Nappi.
- Live coverage of the press conference following landing will be available on NASA+, the NASA app, YouTube, and the organization’s website.
U.S. media must get in touch with the NASA Johnson newsroom by 12 p.m. on September 6 in order to attend the post-landing news conference in person. Media are required to get in touch with the NASA Johnson newsroom at least one hour before the start of the post-landing press conference if they would like to participate by phone.
Visit NASA’s commercial crew blog for full mission coverage and further mission details at:
