No return date for Starliner crew from ISS

BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. — NASA and Boeing provided an update on NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test on Thursday.

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“We don’t have a major announcement today relative to a return date. We’re making great progress, but we’re not quite ready to do that,” said NASA Commercial Crew Program Manager Steve Stitch.

Mission managers are still studying the helium leaks and thruster issues that cropped up during the Starliner’s first crewed flight test to the International Space Station.

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Veteran NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams have now been aboard the space station for 50 days. And they could remain for weeks more.

The Starliner can stay docked at the station for up to 90 days. Mission managers said today, they do have contingency plans if needed, but the goal is to get the crew home safely aboard the Starliner spacecraft.

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The CFT mission will help NASA certify the Starliner for regular rotation missions to the ISS as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program.

As soon as late next week, there will be a readiness review to determine if the Starliner and its crew are ready to return.

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