The International Space Station (ISS) crew has been busy preparing Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft for its uncrewed departure later this week. NASA confirmed on Tuesday that astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore, who were launched to space aboard Starliner, are working to reconfigure the spacecraft’s seats for an uncrewed landing. They are also packing cargo inside the vehicle, which is destined for Earth.
In a separate activity, two Crew-8 mission members welcomed Williams and Wilmore into the Dragon spacecraft, which is currently docked at the ISS. They provided a detailed tour of the spacecraft systems and crew configuration. Williams and Wilmore are scheduled to return to Earth in February alongside two members of the Crew-9 mission aboard another Dragon spacecraft. Crew-8 is set to depart from the station later this month.
Last month, NASA announced that it would be returning Williams and Wilmore to Earth via a SpaceX vehicle. The two astronauts launched into space on June 5th aboard Starliner. While their return was originally planned for a mere eight days after launch, technical issues discovered during the spacecraft’s docking caused delays and prompted NASA to scrap the use of Starliner for their return.
The Crew-9 mission will launch to the space station no earlier than September 24th, carrying just two astronauts instead of the previously planned four. This adjustment is being made to accommodate the return of Williams and Wilmore.
Starliner is now scheduled to undock from the space station on September 6th and land at White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico at approximately 12:03 AM on Saturday, September 7th.
