NASA is currently targeting Tuesday, June 25, for the undocking of Boeing Space’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft from the International Space Station. NASA will live stream Tuesday’s undocking and also the landing the following day. Read on for full details on how to watch.
Traveling aboard the Starliner will be NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore in what will be the first crewed homecoming of the spacecraft.
The Starliner arrived at the ISS on June 6 after launching atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
The mission involving the first crewed test of the spacecraft was originally scheduled to last about a week. But NASA has extended the mission so that it can investigate an issue with some of the Starliner’s reaction control thrusters that malfunctioned during the vehicle’s final approach to the ISS on June 6. The thrusters help to maintain the appropriate orientation of the crew capsule and are vital for guiding the Starliner toward its reentry into Earth’s atmosphere. The agency has also been investigating five helium leaks that occurred on the Starliner during its journey to the ISS.
NASA will only proceed with the trip home once engineers are satisfied that the thrusters are in good working order and that the helium leaks pose no threat to the safety of Williams and Wilmore.
How to watch
NASA is targeting 10:10 p.m. ET on Tuesday, June 25, for the undocking of the Starliner spacecraft from the ISS.
Crew members Williams and Wilmore will travel in the Starliner for nearly seven hours before landing in the desert at White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico at 4:51 a.m. ET on Wednesday, June 26.
NASA will broadcast the homecoming on NASA+, NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agency’s YouTube channel. You can also watch the coverage via the player embedded at the top of this page.
Viewers will be able to watch the Starliner edge away from the space station, which is orbiting about 250 miles above Earth. On Wednesday, coverage will track the Starliner in the final stages of its flight, which will include a parachute-assisted landing in the desert. Live audio feeds between the astronauts and the mission team will also be part of the stream.
The time and date for the voyage home could change. We’ll be sure to post any updates here, but you can also check NASA’s social media feed for news on any changes to the schedule.
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