When we last checked in on Boeing's Starliner spacecraft in February, NASA was announcing that it had formally classified the 2024 crewed flight of the Starliner spacecraft as a “Type A” mishap, an acknowledgement that the test flight was a serious failure.
At the time, NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said the space agency was working with Boeing to "fully understand the risks associated" with the Starliner spacecraft, and to remediate them. Starliner would not fly its next mission, a cargo flight to the International Space Station, until those problems were identified and remediated. He declined to put a date on the test flight.
However, it now appears this work is proceeding apace.
NASA astronaut and Expedition 74 flight engineer Chris Williams shows off the Destiny laboratory module’s Microgravity Science Glovebox aboard the International Space Station. Williams was supporting semiconductor crystal research to help advance the commercial space economy and promote Earth-based industries.
NASA/Chris Williams
NASA astronaut Chris Williams will recap his recent eight-month mission aboard the International Space Station during a news conference at 2:45 p.m. EDT Tuesday, Aug. 4, from the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.
NASA will stream this event live through a variety of platforms. Learn where to watch online:
United States-based media interested in attending in person must contact the NASA Johnson newsroom no later than 5 p.m., Friday, July 31, at jsccommu@mail.nasa.gov.
Media wishing to participate by phone must contact the Johnson newsroom no later than two hours before the start of the event. To ask a question by phone, media must dial into the news conference no later than 15 minutes prior to the start of the call. NASA’s media accreditation policy is available online.
Williams returned to Earth on July 26, after logging 241 days as an Expedition 73/74 flight engineer during his first spaceflight. He returned along with Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergei Mikaev, completing 3,856 orbits of the Earth over the course of their more than 102-million-mile journey. They also saw the arrival of six visiting spacecraft and the departure of eight.
During his mission, Williams supported a wide range of scientific investigations and technology demonstrations. He helped advance research for new cancer treatments and improved in-space manufacturing of materials used in high-performance computers and electronics. Williams also completed two spacewalks to prep for space station power system upgrades and to replace a faulty joint on the Canadarm2 robotic arm. The crew’s work aboard the space station helps improve life on Earth and prepare for future human missions to the Moon and Mars.
To learn more about International Space Station research, operations, and its crews, visit:
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