Starliner update: Astronauts’ return to Earth still weeks away

BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. — Update:

Two veteran NASA astronauts are extending their stay on the International Space Station yet again.

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Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams launched on NASA’s Boeing crew flight test June 5.

The flight test will help certify the Starliner spacecraft for routine missions to the ISS.

Teams want more time to evaluate the Starliner’s propulsion system performance and five small helium leaks in the spacecraft’s service module.

“We trust we’re doing the one thing we need to do to get the right answers to give us the data that we need to come back,” Wilmore said Wednesday.

Mission managers said the earliest the astronauts might return to Earth would be the end of July.

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Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft successfully sends NASA astronauts into orbit

Earlier story:

NASA And Boeing are set to give an update on Starliner’s first crewed flight test Wednesday afternoon.

Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams launched from our Space Coast on June 5.

They were supposed to spend a week at the International Space Station but have now been there for more than a month.

Crews have said they needed to perform more tests and evaluate Starliner’s propulsion system.

Today’s news conference is scheduled for 12:30 p.m.

Monitor WFTV.com and watch Eyewitness News beginning at 4 p.m. for an update.

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