Astronauts expected to spend a week at ISS before returning to Earth on June 14, landing date could change.
Five of Starliner's reaction thrusters malfunctioned during approach to ISS, three had helium leaks.
NASA and Boeing engineers recovered four faulty thrusters and closed off leaks in attitude thruster systems.
NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams successfully docked Boeing's Starliner spacecraft at the International Space Station on June 6, 2024.
Starliner lifted off on June 3 aboard ULA Atlas V rocket for inaugural crewed test flight to ISS.
Two NASA astronauts, Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams, successfully docked Boeing's Starliner spacecraft at the International Space Station (ISS) on June 6, 2024. The docking was delayed due to malfunctioning thrusters.
According to reports from various sources, five of Starliner's reaction thrusters malfunctioned during the approach to the ISS. Three of these thrusters had helium leaks. However, NASA and Boeing engineers were able to recover four of the faulty thrusters and close off the leaks by closing all helium manifolds in the attitude thruster systems.
The Starliner spacecraft lifted off atop a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on June 3, marking its inaugural crewed test flight to the ISS. If successful, NASA could authorize Boeing to conduct regular flights to the space station for the agency.
The astronauts are expected to spend about a week at the ISS before returning to Earth in Starliner on June 14. However, the landing date could change as the mission progresses.
Flight controllers will continue to monitor Starliner's reaction control thrusters, which were able to recover all but one during various tests during the docking process.
The SpaceX Starship launch during its fourth flight test from Boca Chica beach on June 06, 2024 was a historic moment.
Boeing’s Starliner fulfilled a long-held NASA dream when astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams emerged from the capsule into the ISS.
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SpaceX’s Starship thundered off the pad for a fourth time, going further than the last test and checking off more crucial development boxes.
Boeing’s Starliner had classic Space Coast launch views for a couple minutes, but no live footage of the astronauts or the view from Starliner’s journey.
SpaceX is selling the future, while Boeing’s fulfilling an agreement. The public interest, judged by the imperfect metric of viral social media posts, also shows that difference.
NASA declined a private proposal to reboost aging Hubble telescope despite SpaceX and billionaire astronaut Jared Isaacman signing a study agreement with the agency in September 2022.
China’s lunar return mission, Chang’e 6, gathered samples, unfurled a Chinese flag on the far side of the moon, and then lifted off from the surface and is expected to land on June 25.
Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko reached 1000 total days in space while on his fifth spaceflight.
Axiom completed testing at SpaceX’s headquarters on how the Axiom Extravehicular Mobility Unit (AxEMU) will be used with parts of Starship.
An Inspector General audit found that NASA is too heavy-handed in commercial lunar cargo program, also known as CLPS, resulting in higher costs and delayed delivery schedules.
Agatha, an artificial intelligence system developed by Slingshot Aerospace and DARPA, can identify anomalous spacecraft within large satellite constellations.
Rocket Lab’s Electron successfully completed NASA’s PREFIRE launches, with the pair of missions launching within 11 days of each other. PREFIRE are climate-focused satellites that will measure heat lost in space from the Earth’s polar regions.
K2 test fired its krypton-powered Hall effect thruster, a device that uses 20 kilowatts of power and is four times more powerful than any known Hall effect thruster flown to date.
Lockheed ordered $375 million worth of rocket launches from Firefly, including a first mission later this year.
Iridium was awarded a $94 million Space Force contract to use its Enhanced Mobile Satellite Services (EMSS) in support of critical U.S. government applications.
Astra filed updated information on its merger process and disclosed it is relocating its satellite propulsion manufacturing facility to consolidate at its Alameda, California headquarters.
Sir Peter Beck, Rocket Lab CEO, was knighted in New Zealand for his services to the aerospace industry.
Jonathan Lunine was named Chief Scientist at NASA’s JPL and Karlton Johnson was appointed CEO of the National Space Society.
Starliner experienced thruster malfunctions during docking with the ISS
Five of Starliner’s reaction thrusters malfunctioned and three had helium leaks
The astronauts managed to recover four of the five faulty thrusters and closed off the leaks by closing all helium manifolds in the attitude thruster systems
Boeing’s Starliner capsule successfully docked with the International Space Station on June 6, despite thruster issues.
Two NASA astronauts, Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams, are aboard the Starliner capsule and arrived at the space station.
An earlier docking attempt was called off due to problems with five of the 28 thrusters on the lower portion of the Starliner capsule.
The hatch between the Starliner capsule and the space station was opened approximately 2 hours after docking, and Williams entered first followed by Wilmore.
Flight controllers will continue to monitor the capsule’s reaction control thrusters, which were able to recover all but one during various tests during the docking process.
Boeing’s Starliner capsule lifted off atop an Atlas V rocket on June 3 from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, marking its inaugural crewed test flight to the space station.
If the test flight is successful, NASA could authorize Boeing to conduct regular flights to the space station for the agency.
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]Boeing's Starliner capsule successfully docked with the International Space Station on June 6, despite thruster issues.[
Boeing's Starliner spacecraft and two NASA astronauts, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, successfully docked at the International Space Station on Thursday afternoon.
The docking was more than an hour later than planned due to troubleshooting of several malfunctioning thrusters.
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]Boeing's Starliner spacecraft and two NASA astronauts, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, successfully docked at the International Space Station on Thursday afternoon.[
Five of Starliner’s reaction thrusters malfunctioned and three had helium leaks.
