Not according to the company, which took to social media platform X, owned by SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, to rebut a report published Monday.

Sources within the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) and the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) shared with CNBC previously unreported notices and investigative records, which allege that SpaceX violated several clean water regulations. The company employs a water deluge system, common at launchpads such as Florida’s Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, to absorb heat and vibrations from firing rocket engines.

But according to CNBC, the firm’s use of that system this year—including during the third orbital test flight of Starship, the most powerful rocket ever built, and the Super Heavy booster—may be discharging industrial wastewater without TCEQ or EPA permission.

SpaceX swiftly refuted the CNBC report in a lengthy post on X, characterizing the story as “factually inaccurate.”

According to the company, the water deluge system uses potable, or drinking, water and has been authorized for operation by both the TCEQ and EPA, which filed their notices one week and five months ago, respectively.

“Throughout our ongoing coordination with both TCEQ and the EPA, we have explicitly asked if operation of the deluge system needed to stop and we were informed that operations could continue,” SpaceX said.

Neither agency immediately responded to FLYING’s request for comment.

Typically, a launch provider must be compliant with state and federal laws to obtain launch permissions from the FAA. On Monday, the aviation regulator postponed several meetings intended for stakeholders to provide feedback on SpaceX’s proposal to launch Starship from Starbase as many as 25 times per year. The agency did not provide a reason for the postponements.

“The FAA apologizes for any inconvenience,” it said. “Public meetings will be rescheduled; however, the docket remains open to receive public comments.”

Conflicting Accounts

Interestingly, CNBC and SpaceX cite the same sources to make their respective claims, raising questions about whether one party received bad information.

Starbase’s deluge system was installed after Starship’s maiden flight in April 2023, the impact of which sent debris flying miles away, led to an FAA investigation, and brought a lawsuit against the agency and SpaceX from five environmental groups. It was first tested in July with TCEQ personnel onsite, SpaceX said.

But regulators told CNBC the firm skipped a crucial step in the permitting process related to wastewater management. In its notice to SpaceX, TCEQ said it received 14 complaints claiming that the deluge system was harming the surrounding environment, including one last August alleging that Starbase was discharging industrial wastewater without a permit. 

Last month, a TCEQ investigation found that SpaceX did so four times between March and July. According to a SpaceX permit filing viewed by CNBC, some of that water contained concentrations of mercury that exceed water quality limits.

SpaceX on Monday, however, painted a very different picture. According to the company, no water samples tested were found to have mercury levels above EPA limits. It elaborated on Tuesday with another post claiming that the figures the outlet viewed were simply incorrect.

“While there may be a typo in one table of the initial TCEQ’s public version of the permit application, the rest of the application and the lab reports clearly states that levels of Mercury found in non-stormwater discharge associated with the water deluge system are well below state and federal water quality criteria,” the company said.

The firm flatly denied that any industrial wastewater is spewing from Starbase, claiming that the deluge system’s potable water is never used in or exposed to industrial processes.

It also said the landing pad is power washed prior to activating the system and that soil, air, and water samples are analyzed by an independent laboratory after each use. According to the company, most of the water is either vaporized by the heat of the engines or captured in special ponds, with only a tiny amount escaping the pad.

SpaceX further claimed it is well within its right to operate the system.

The EPA sent the company a formal notice of violation of the Clean Water Act the day before Starship’s third test flight in March. But according to the firm, the agency made a mistake.

“When the EPA issued their administrative order in March 2024, it was done without an understanding of basic facts of the deluge system’s operation or acknowledgement that we were operating under the Texas Multi-Sector General Permit,” SpaceX said.

Per the company’s version of events, the EPA agreed to allow it to continue using the system as it worked toward obtaining an individual permit from TCEQ, “because the deluge system has always complied with common conditions set by an individual permit, and causes no harm to the environment.”

It submitted a permit application on July 1 and said the agency is expected to issue a draft individual permit and agreed compliance order this week.

If SpaceX is ultimately found to be in violation of TCEQ and EPA rules, it could have a ripple effect on the Starship program, which is under pressure to meet obligations for NASA’s Artemis moon mission program as well as commercial customers.

According to the company, the rocket is ready to launch on its fifth test flight pending regulatory approval, but that may be difficult to obtain if it isn’t compliant with regulations. The firm will need to complete several more Starship test flights before the spacecraft is authorized for service missions.

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That’s not the beginning of a bad joke, but rather a description of SpaceX’s newly announced human spaceflight mission, which as soon as this year will send four astronauts to the ends of the Earth for the first time in history.

The company on Monday unveiled Fram2—a mission to explore the planet’s polar regions, over which no spacecraft has ever flown directly. During the three-to-five-day mission, which will launch from Florida atop SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket, the crew will enter a 90-degree polar orbit and observe the Arctic and Antarctic wilderness through a cupola fitted to the company’s Dragon capsule.

No crewed spacecraft has ever reached an orbital path higher than 65 degrees, a feat the Soviet Vostok 6 mission, which carried the first woman to space, achieved in 1963. Typically, such orbits are occupied by smaller satellites, while larger spacecraft such as the International Space Station fly closer to the equator.

The expedition, named after the ship Fram used by Norwegian explorers to reach the poles in the late 19th century, will be Dragon’s sixth commercial astronaut mission and third free-flying mission. The spacecraft has flown three private missions to the ISS for customer Axiom Space, completed the Inspiration4 private orbital spaceflight on behalf of billionaire entrepreneur Jared Isaacman, and will launch another mission for Isaacman—Polaris Dawn—as soon as this month.

“Polaris Program, Inspiration4, Axiom, & now Fram2 showcase what commercial missions can achieve thanks to @SpaceX’s reusability and NASA’s vision with the commercial crew program,” Isaacman said in a post on social media platform X, which is owned by SpaceX CEO Elon Musk. “All just small steps towards unlocking the last great frontier.”

Fram2 similarly is backed by a wealthy CEO, entrepreneur and adventurer Chun Wang, who made his fortune from Bitcoin mining. Wang purchased the mission for an undisclosed amount and will serve as commander.

According to his profile on X, Wang is an avid traveler who has visited half of the world’s countries and territories. But he has grander aspirations.

“I’ve read many sci-fi stories about the first human missions to Mars, usually led by NASA or some fictional government,” Wang said in a post on X. “Rarely does anyone dare to imagine such a mission may be carried out privately. But now, I increasingly believe that someday we will reach Mars—and it may be a person, or a company, not a nation, who gets there.”

Accompanying Wang will be commander Jannicke Mikkelsen of Norway, pilot Eric Philips of Australia, and mission specialist Rabea Rogge of Germany, who told the website Everyday Astronaut they befriended the blockchain entrepreneur on a trek to the North Pole. All four crew members will be making their first trip to the final frontier.

Mikkelson is a filmmaker who seeks out remote or hazardous filming locations and served as payload specialist on the 2019 One More Orbit mission—a record-breaking polar circumnavigation flight on the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11.

According to its website, Fram2 will shatter One More Orbit’s high water mark of 46 hours and 40 minutes, achieved in a Qatar Executive Gulfstream G650ER ultra-long-range business jet, by flying from the north to south pole in just 46 minutes.

Philips, a polar adventurer and guide, knows those regions well, having completed several ski expeditions. But viewing them from orbit has never been possible, even for astronauts on the ISS, to whom they appear invisible.

Fram2 will orbit at about 264-280 miles above Earth, allowing the crew to study strange green and purple light emissions known as Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancements (STEVE), atmospheric phenomena that resemble auroras. Researchers have yet to determine what causes the optical abnormalities. The mission will weigh input from space physicists and citizen scientists alike.

“Having spent much of my adult life in the polar regions this is an incredible opportunity to view the Arctic and Antarctica from space, in particular Antarctica which will be fully lit at this time of year,” said Philips.

Rogge similarly has a fascination with extreme environments, having researched ocean robotics in the Arctic in pursuit of ways to improve the technology. She will get the chance to study tools that could prepare humans for future missions to Mars and beyond, “from capturing the first human x-ray images in space to Just-in-Time training tools to the effects of spaceflight on behavioral health,” according to Fram2’s webpage. The crew will also study what happens to the human body after weeks or months in space.

“Wang aims to use the mission to highlight the crew’s explorational spirit, bring a sense of wonder and curiosity to the larger public, and highlight how technology can help push the boundaries of exploration of Earth and through the mission’s research,” SpaceX said in an update on its website.

Since 2020, SpaceX has flown 50 astronauts to low-Earth orbit across 13 human spaceflight missions, more than any private company. These include the three Axiom Space missions, Inspiration4, and eight NASA Commercial Crew rotation missions to the ISS, as well as the Demo-2 test flight.

Competitors Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic, meanwhile, have each completed seven commercial human spaceflights.

All three companies, in addition to NASA contractors such as Boeing and Northrop Grumman, are part of an emerging trend that could soon become the norm. NASA has predicted that when the ISS is retired at the end of the decade, it could become one of many customers enlisting the services of private spaceflight companies, rather than a provider of those services.

That could mean more private astronaut missions financed by millionaire and billionaire backers.

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NASA officials on Wednesday held a media briefing, during which stakeholders revealed that confidence in Starliner’s ability to return the astronauts is waning. According to Ken Bowersox, associate administrator of the agency’s Space Operations Mission Directorate, teams are “getting more serious about evaluating our other options.”

The primary alternative, officials said, is to fly SpaceX’s upcoming Crew-9 mission with two astronauts rather than four, leaving room for Wilmore and Williams to hitch a ride when that mission concludes in February. They estimated that NASA will make a decision by mid-August.

“We could take either path,” Bowersox said.

Boeing and SpaceX representatives were not present on the call, the intention of which, NASA said, was to provide the agency’s perspective on the mission.

On its way up to the ISS, Starliner suffered two main issues that are giving crews pause over how to return the astronauts. A set of helium leaks that emerged on the spacecraft have since stabilized, according to NASA. However, the other issue, which involves five faulty reaction control system (RCS) thrusters on Starliner’s expendable service module, is still being evaluated.

Officials on Wednesday said ground testing of an identical thruster at White Sands Test Facility in New Mexico revealed that the problem is linked to a tiny Teflon seal on an oxidizer poppet, which controls the flow of propellant into the thruster. Teams theorize that the extreme heat the thrusters experienced during Starliner’s rendezvous with the ISS caused the Teflon to expand, inhibiting flow and causing them to fire at weaker-than-expected levels.

According to Steve Stich, who manages NASA’s Commercial Crew program, a July 27 Starliner hot fire test showed that the affected thrusters—with the exception of one, which has been deactivated—are now firing as expected. This has led engineers to hypothesize that the teflon seals contracted and are no longer blocking propellant from reaching the thrusters. Now, the task is to understand how and why.

Teams are working to better understand how those seals might behave during Starliner’s return trip, but there is not yet consensus on whether they are good to go. According to Bowersox and Stich, there is internal disagreement about returning the astronauts on Starliner versus Dragon, which was amplified with the discovery of the faulty teflon seal.

“We heard enough voices [on the program control board] that the decision is not clear,” said Bowersox.

The officials explained that Boeing, which on Friday asserted it has high confidence in Starliner, is viewing risk based on previous missions and flight performance, while NASA wants to understand the root cause of the issue before it has confidence in returning with crew. Ultimately, NASA administrator Bill Nelson will have the final say.

“Reasonable people could have different views on which path we should take,” said Bowersox, who acknowledged that the chance of an uncrewed return has risen in recent weeks. “I don’t think anyone has taken a view that you could prove is wrong or right.”

NASA will have until mid-August to decide whether the Dragon contingency plan should be put into action.

The ISS has two docking modules that are occupied by Starliner and SpaceX’s Crew-8 capsule, meaning Starliner would need to autonomously undock before Crew-9 launches on September 24. Crew-8 would then depart the space station with the crew of NASA’s Expedition 71, and the Crew-9 Dragon would take its place, leaving one docking port open for the next SpaceX cargo mission. Wilmore and Williams would stay for the duration of Crew-9, flying home with the two-person Expedition 72 crew in February.

The problem, though, is that Starliner’s flight software is not currently capable of an autonomous undocking despite having achieved the feat during an uncrewed mission in 2022.

For the CFT, the software was configured for a crewed undocking, as per the mission profile. Now, Boeing and NASA must modify the mission data load to reconfigure the system for an uncrewed undocking, which sources say could take up to one month. NASA said the spacecraft has built-in fault tolerance that would prevent it from colliding with the ISS should its thrusters not perform as expected during that maneuver.

The agency said it has been in daily communication with Wilmore and Williams and that the astronauts are prepared for whatever path it ultimately takes. If they stay along with Crew-9, they will assist personnel with scientific research, including spacewalks. Additional materials, such as spacesuits, would be sent up with the Dragon.

“Butch and Suni are ready to support whatever we need to do,” said Dana Weigel, manager of NASA’s ISS program.

Officials insist that despite the internal conflict around Starliner, the vehicle could still be used to return the astronauts in the case of a contingency on the ISS. In those scenarios, Bowersox said, NASA is willing to tolerate a higher level of risk—one that is jeopardizing teams’ ability to complete the CFT as intended.

The worst-case scenario, according to NASA, would be if the helium leak and thruster issues converge during Starliner’s deorbit burn, the maneuver that will place it back in Earth’s atmosphere. An unlikely combination of technical failures could impact the ability of the RCS thrusters to maintain the capsule’s orbital trajectory, though agency research predicts that it could complete the maneuver even with multiple failures.

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The post NASA: Starliner Astronauts May Not Return Until February appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

NASA and Boeing are in the midst of the inaugural crew flight test (CFT) of Starliner, a semireusable vessel to the ISS under contract for agency service missions as soon as next year. But en route to the orbital laboratory, the spacecraft suffered several anomalies that have led teams to keep it on the ISS for further testing.

A preflight readiness review, during which crews would make a determination on Starliner’s return date, was expected last month but has since been pushed back, with no updates provided since last week.

NASA and Boeing last held a meeting to discuss Starliner’s issues with the media on July 25 and have insisted that the Boeing capsule will return the astronauts to Earth. However, as first reported by Ars Technica and confirmed by FLYING, it appears the space agency is considering enlisting SpaceX’s Dragon.

“NASA is evaluating all options for the return of agency astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams from the International Space Station as safely as possible,” a NASA spokesperson told FLYING. “No decisions have been made and the agency will continue to provide updates on its planning.”

The statement is a marked shift from the agency’s tone thus far, which has been adamant about Starliner safely returning Wilmore and Williams.

While SpaceX’s Dragon is not mentioned by name, it is the only vehicle in NASA’s ISS Commercial Crew rotation program. Steve Stich, who manages the Commercial Crew program, previously said that there were no discussions between the agency and SpaceX about using Dragon as an alternative. However, NASA in July issued a task award for SpaceX to study flying Dragon with six passengers, rather than the typical four.

In theory, the spacecraft could accommodate the four-person crew of SpaceX’s upcoming Crew-9 mission in addition to Wilmore and Williams. NASA is reportedly also considering flying Crew-9 with two crewmembers, leaving room for the two astronauts on the ISS.

The problem, though, is that Crew-9 on Tuesday was delayed from August 18 to September 24 to give Starliner teams more time to finalize a return plan.

Multiple independent sources also told Ars Technica that Starliner’s onboard flight software is not currently capable of completing an automated undocking from the ISS—despite the capsule completing that maneuver during an uncrewed flight test in 2022—and could take nearly a month to be updated.

If the report is accurate, the software issue would compound Starliner’s existing problems, the most consequential being a set of misfiring thrusters.

Five reaction control system (RCS) thrusters on the spacecraft’s service module fired at lower levels than expected during the trip to the orbital laboratory. The thrusters have been tested on orbit and are now operating at or near expected levels, according to NASA.

But the agency continues to wrap up ground testing at White Sands Test Facility in New Mexico, where an identical thruster is being evaluated. It appears crews do not yet have full confidence in the thrusters’ performance, as evidenced by the delay to the flight readiness review.

NASA continues to tout safety as its highest priority for the CFT, but there are certainly some politics at play.

On July 25, Stich said NASA would like to see Starliner return Wilmore and Williams during the CFT, implying that another crewed test could be required for certification if it doesn’t. The CFT is intended to be the final test flight, but Stich previously acknowledged that certification could take longer than originally expected.

Boeing last week released a statement appearing to publicly pressure NASA, reiterating its confidence in the vessel as evidenced by the extensive testing that has been performed since it docked at the ISS.

Already, Starliner’s inaugural service mission has been delayed from February to August 2025, adding to the almost decade of setbacks the program has suffered. Adding to the headache, Boeing has reportedly spent $1.6B on Starliner so far.

The manufacturer has plenty of incentive to push for Wilmore and Williams’ return on the spacecraft. But at the same time, a failed mission would likely torpedo the program, leaving stakeholders with a difficult decision.

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The post Starliner Astronauts May Return on Delayed Crew-9 Mission appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner—a semireusable spacecraft under a multibillion-dollar contract with NASA for Commercial Crew rotation missions to the ISS—underwent a hot fire test on Saturday intended to evaluate the capsule’s reaction control system (RCS) thrusters. The vessel is in the midst of its crewed flight test (CFT), which is intended to be its final mission before NASA certifies it for service.

On its way to the orbital laboratory, five of Starliner’s RCS thrusters failed to perform as expected, which, coupled with a series of helium leaks, has led NASA and Boeing to keep the spacecraft at the ISS for further testing both on the ground and in orbit. The issues are traced to the spacecraft’s service module, which, unlike the semireusable crew module, will be jettisoned and lost at the end of the mission.

Starliner had already undergone one on-orbit hot fire test in June. According to Steve Stich, manager of NASA’s Commercial Crew program, all thrusters, except for one which has been shut down, performed at 80 to 100 percent during that test. Stich in July said the space agency continues to hold that assessment.

However, it appears the test was not satisfactory for NASA and Boeing, which last month began hot fire ground testing at White Sands Test Facility Test Facility in New Mexico. The campaign is using an identical thruster to recreate the cadence of Starliner’s thrusters during its docking with the ISS, which engineers believe is the maneuver that caused the issue.

As part of those evaluations, officials suggested there could be a second hot fire test of Starliner on orbit, which came to fruition Saturday. With Wilmore and Williams inside the spacecraft, teams fired 27 of the service module’s 28 RCS thrusters one at a time.

The test showed that all thrusters are back to preflight levels, firing at 97 to 102 percent of peak thrust according to Boeing. In addition, engineers confirmed that helium leak rates remain stable and that the spacecraft has more than enough fuel for its return trip.

Boeing predicted that a flight test readiness review will take place by the end of this week, following which teams will select a return date. Wilmore and Williams will also participate in two undocking simulations during the week in preparation for their homecoming.

The astronauts in July gave their first Earth-to-orbit update since arriving at the ISS, saying they are in good spirits and have been in contact with their families.

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The post Stuck Boeing Starliner Completes Thruster Testing on Orbit appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

The approval will allow SpaceX to stay on schedule with its Crew-9 mission to rotate astronauts at the International Space Station (ISS), which NASA officials on Friday said is planned for no earlier than August 18.

Falcon 9 was grounded by the FAA following a rare mishap during a July 11 launch of Starlink satellites, its first failure after a streak of more than 300 successful missions.

SpaceX on Thursday shed more light on the incident. The company traced the anomaly to a cracked sense line that created a liquid oxygen leak within the rocket’s second stage engine. This caused ignition fluid to freeze, preventing the engine from performing a burn that would have placed the satellites in a circular orbit.

Despite the issue, SpaceX said, the engine continued operating as intended through both of its planned burns, but all 20 satellites were lost.

The FAA swiftly grounded Falcon 9 as is standard whenever a launch does not go according to plan. SpaceX submitted a mishap report on the night of the anomaly.

Steve Stich, manager of NASA’s Commercial Crew program, said Friday that “SpaceX went above and beyond” in its assessment of the issue, working with NASA to develop a fault tree, review spacecraft telemetry, analyze video, and search for similar issues on other Falcon models.

The company has opted to remove the faulty sense line, which is redundant and not a part of the spacecraft’s safety system, for near-term Falcon 9 launches. It also agreed upon several corrective actions with the FAA that will be detailed in the coming days.

The FAA must still give a final sign-off for Crew-9 to launch, but the blessing to return to flight should allow SpaceX to meet its mission timeline. Stich on Friday said Crew-9 will launch no earlier than August 18 from Launch Complex 39-A at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, with the launch window extending into September.

The mission represents the fourth flight of this particular Falcon. It will launch SpaceX’s Crew Dragon on its 45th mission to the ISS. Once onboard, four crewmembers will spend six months conducting a range of experiments, including studying the physics of neutron stars and the behavior of wildfires on Earth.

The ISS’ two docking ports are occupied by SpaceX’s Crew-8 Dragon capsule and Boeing’s Starliner, the latter of which will need to make way for Crew-9. Complicating matters, however, is the unexpected extension of Starliner’s inaugural crew flight test (CFT), which has left astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams aboard the orbital laboratory for nearly two months.

Sources told Ars Technica’s Eric Berger that NASA is considering sending Crew-9 to the ISS with only two astronauts, theoretically making room for Wilmore and Williams to hitch a ride home on SpaceX’s Dragon rather than Starliner.

The scenario is one NASA hopes to avoid. Officials stopped short of calling it a requirement for certification but said that returning the astronauts home on Starliner rather than Dragon is “important” to the program’s goals. According to Stich, teams have finished an approximately monthlong test of Starliner’s thrusters and are working toward a flight readiness review, expected toward the end of next week.

However, Stich also said that NASA has officially handed over the Starliner’s first mission—which was double booked for early next year—to SpaceX. The flight, Starliner-1, will be pushed to no earlier than August 2025, while Falcon 9 and Dragon handle the agency’s tenth commercial crew rotation in February. Starliner-1 will again be double booked with SpaceX Crew-11.

Though SpaceX’s Falcon woes haven’t derailed Crew-9, they may shake up NASA’s busy ISS manifest. The agency is working toward an August 3 launch of Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus, followed by an August 13 Roscosmos launch. Crew-9 would be next, followed by SpaceX’s Polaris Dawn mission, originally scheduled for this month.

Beyond that, NASA wants to make a Soyuz ISS crew exchange in September, launch the Europa Clipper probe in October, and facilitate the Axiom-4 private astronaut mission in November.

Given the rapid turnaround following Falcon 9’s rare mishap, Boeing’s Starliner may be a larger culprit than SpaceX in any future delays.

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The post FAA Clears SpaceX’s Falcon 9 Rocket for Return to Flight appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

For the public, those were the first words heard from NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams—the crew of the space agency’s Boeing Crew Flight Test (CFT)—since they arrived at the orbital laboratory more than one month ago for an intended eight-day stay.

The Earth-to-orbit call between crew and NASA command was live streamed on the agency’s website. The event answered appeals from members of the media, made during a previous press conference, to see the astronauts on camera as concerns with Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner—which brought them to the ISS—continue to linger.

The spacecraft is contending with two key problems: helium leaks and deactivated or underperforming thrusters. The issues are concentrated within the spacecraft’s service module, which aids in maneuvers such as docking and undocking with the ISS.

NASA and Boeing have indicated that Starliner has more than enough helium to make it home but are continuing to assess the root cause of the leaks. During a hot fire test after docking, four out of the five affected thrusters performed as expected. The fifth was deactivated for the remainder of the mission.

Williams and Wilmore recounted their trip to the space station and the moment they realized that Starliner’s thrusters were not firing at full power. They also sang the spacecraft’s praises, with Wilmore even saying he was tempted to award his first perfect rating for its handling performance.

Separately, NASA and Boeing representatives held a press conference to provide the latest on ongoing ground thruster testing at White Sands Test Facility in New Mexico. Officials again did not provide a firm return date for Wilmore and Williams. But Steve Stich, manager of NASA’s Commercial Crew program, estimated that testing could wrap up by the end of the month, after which point teams will iron out a timeline.

Engineers hope to conduct as many evaluations as possible while the semireusable spacecraft, designed to survive 10 missions, is in orbit. Starliner’s service module, the expendable component of the spacecraft, will be jettisoned and lost as it reenters Earth’s atmosphere.

Astronauts Phone Home

Williams and Wilmore on Wednesday made their long-awaited first appearance on camera since arriving at the ISS on June 6, recounting the CFT’s progress so far.

“Launch was spectacular,” Wilmore said, adding that the spacecraft performed “unbelievably well” during operational capability checks.

However, on the second day of their journey to the ISS, the astronauts could tell something was amiss. As Starliner approached the orbital lab, a total of five reaction control system (RCS) thrusters on its service module either turned off or did not fire at intended strength. Williams and Wilmore commandeered the capsule manually for about one hour as teams on the ground assessed the issue.

“From that point on, you could tell that the thrust was degraded,” Wilmore said. “But it was still impressive.”

Even with less-than-optimal performance, the thrusters completed what Wilmore described as a perfect maneuver as they navigated the final 10 meters to dock Starliner with the space station.

According to Williams, the astronauts talk with mission crews once per week to share and analyze the data they’ve collected. She highlighted the capsule’s ability to serve as a “safe haven” in the event of an ISS evacuation—a role it fulfilled last month after a Russian satellite broke up in orbit.

“We are having a great time here on the ISS,” said Williams. “I’m not complaining, Butch isn’t complaining, that we’re here for a couple extra weeks.”

One question NASA and Boeing have received is whether Starliner could bring Williams and Wilmore home right now. Officials insist it could, but only in an emergency situation that would require the ISS to be evacuated. The astronauts were asked about their confidence level in that scenario.

“I feel confident that, if we had to—if there was a problem with the International Space Station—we could get in the spacecraft and undock, talk with our team, and figure out the best way to come home,” said Williams.

She later added, “I have a real good feeling in my heart that the spacecraft will bring us home no problem.”

Wilmore said he and his crewmate “trust the tests we are doing are the right ones we need to do to get us the right answers, to give us the data we need to come back,” adding that they are “absolutely ready” for a return based on current engineering data.

NASA could send a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule—which has completed all eight ISS Commercial Crew rotation missions to date—to retrieve the astronauts should Starliner’s issues persist. On Wednesday, Stich said the space agency has not yet opened those discussions with SpaceX, though he did not rule out the possibility.

The astronauts also described their view of Hurricane Beryl from space, saying that their families—who live in Texas and were in the storm’s path—are doing well. Wilmore said he is “90 percent sure” he could see the storm forming off the West coast of Africa days before it was named.

The 20-minute call concluded with some zero-gravity backflips by Williams and a big, smiling thumbs-up from Wilmore.

NASA, Boeing Share More Info

Stich and Mark Nappi, vice president and general manager of Boeing’s Commercial Crew program, addressed the media following the astronauts’ remarks.

According to Stich, Starliner will need to undock before mid-August, when SpaceX’s Crew-8 team swaps with the incoming Crew-9. Williams and Wilmore will need to return a few days before the Crew-9 launch window opens. Starliner remains a “go” for return in an emergency scenario, officials said. But they prefer to wait until ground testing is complete before attempting a by-the-books return,

Stich estimated that hot fire testing at White Sands could “optimistically” wrap up by the end of July, though it could be extended. Teams are working toward a nominal return flight readiness review, standard for crew rotation missions, that would give the green light to finish the mission as planned. 

Should more time be needed, NASA is in the process of approving a 45-day extension of the CFT, which is contingent on the health of Starliner’s batteries. According to Stich, those systems have shown no sign of wear and tear.

The goal of the test campaign is to recreate the firing pattern of one of Starliner’s faulty thrusters using an identical thruster—designed for a future mission—on the ground. Hot fire testing began on July 3, but Stich said crews have so far been unable to achieve the temperatures experienced by the thruster in orbit. Engineers believe the unusual firing pattern could be due to excess heat.

Teams will then attempt to predict how the thrusters might behave as Starliner undocks and flies home. Based on their learnings, they could modify the spacecraft’s flight path, deactivate certain thrusters, or fire them at different rates. Williams and Wilmore are capable of piloting Starliner manually if issues arise.

At the same time, Stich said White Sands personnel are evaluating the service module for Starliner’s inaugural crew rotation mission, Starliner-1, scheduled for February. The current service module has contended with a series of helium leaks, for which crews are attempting to uncover the root cause. Starliner-1’s service module won’t be redesigned, but Nappi said future models could incorporate changes based on the testing at White Sands.

The Outlook

Extended ISS stays are not necessarily uncommon, and the space station is designed to accommodate crew for months at a time if needed.

NASA astronaut Frank Rubio, for example, set a U.S. spaceflight record when his planned six-month mission was nearly doubled to 371 consecutive days aboard the orbital laboratory. Unlike Starliner, the Russian Soyuz capsule that ferried Rubio to the ISS was quickly ruled out as an emergency return vehicle, lending credence to the idea that Boeing’s issues are less severe.

However, NASA and Boeing face the added pressure of certification after close to a decade of delays to the Starliner program. In a prior press conference, Stich acknowledged that NASA and Boeing “understand it’s going to take a little bit longer” to certify Starliner than originally planned.

On Wednesday, the Commercial Crew manager said teams will decide between Starliner-1 or SpaceX Dragon’s Crew-10—which are booked for the same February launch window—once the CFT ends and postflight analysis is complete. The longer that takes, he said, the more likely it is that SpaceX will take over the mission.

Nappi agreed with that assessment, citing the need to understand and fix Starliner’s helium leaks as the biggest obstacle to certification.

NASA and Boeing said Wilmore and Williams will make one more Earth-to-orbit call before they depart the ISS, with more details to come.

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During a media briefing on Friday, NASA and Boeing representatives said the astronauts’ return to Earth will come after ground testing at the White Sands Test Facility in New Mexico is complete. Teams are working to re-create some of the issues experienced by the reusable spacecraft during its inaugural crewed flight to the orbital laboratory.

According to Steve Stich, manager of NASA’s Commercial Crew program, Starliner was originally deemed safe for a stay as long as 45 days on the ISS. Crews are in the process of extending its battery life, which Stich said will keep the risk level manageable for another 45 days, at least.

However, he conceded that NASA and Boeing “understand it’s going to take a little bit longer” to certify Starliner than previously planned. The spacecraft is scheduled to fly its first service mission, Starliner-1, early next year. Officials said SpaceX’s Crew Dragon, which has completed all eight commercial crew rotation missions to the ISS to date, could take that slot.

“We’re not in any rush to come home,” Stich said Friday. “The risk for the next 45 days is essentially the same as for the first 45 days.”

Added Ken Bowersox, associate administrator of NASA’s Space Operations Mission Directorate: “We have the luxury of time.”

Stich, Bowersox, and Mark Nappi, the manager of Boeing’s commercial crew program,  reiterated that “engineering data suggests” Starliner is safe to return Wilmore and Williams to Earth in the event of an emergency.

Officials also reported that the spacecraft is in “good shape” despite two lingering issues—a set of helium leaks and faulty thrusters.

A total of five helium leaks have sprung up on Starliner’s service module, which makes tiny maneuvers to the spacecraft to assist in docking and keep it in orbit. After testing the helium manifolds earlier this month, NASA found that leak rates had declined. Stich on Friday said those rates have not changed.

The other issue involves the service module’s thrusters, some of which did not fire at full strength en route to the ISS. These were also assessed earlier this month, and Stich said performance on all thrusters is between 80 and 100 percent.

It appears the thrusters are the main factor necessitating a longer mission for Starliner. As soon as Tuesday, engineers will begin testing an identical component at White Sands to re-create the firing pattern of one of the in-orbit thrusters. Officials said the campaign is expected to last several weeks and could be extended.

According to Nappi, teams want to keep Starliner in space for the evaluations because they could inform additional in-orbit tests or a modification of the spacecraft’s undocking procedure. He said crews do not yet understand the issue well enough to fix them permanently and that it would be “irresponsible” not to use additional time to conduct testing. Starliner’s crew module is reusable for up to 10 missions, but the service module will be jettisoned during the CFT.

Nappi said he has been in contact with Wilmore and Williams and that they remain in good spirits, describing Starliner as “pristine and precise.” The astronauts are able to communicate with their families daily and according to officials are not “stranded.”

On Wednesday, Starliner got another real-life test when an in-orbit satellite breakup created a debris field that hurtled toward the ISS. Wilmore and Williams tested the spacecraft’s ability to act as a “safe haven” in the case of a contingency on the space station, getting inside, powering it up, and sealing the hatch. They remained inside for an hour and according to officials were prepared to initiate an undocking if necessary.

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The space agency on Thursday announced it awarded SpaceX a contract, worth up to $843 million, to build a vehicle that will deorbit the space station when it is retired in 2030. At the end of the laboratory’s lifespan, NASA will use the SpaceX-built vehicle to bring it crashing down into a remote section of the Pacific Ocean.

The Biden administration in 2021 committed to extend ISS operations through the end of the decade. After that, it is planned to be replaced by an array of NASA-funded commercial space stations.

“Selecting a U.S. Deorbit Vehicle for the International Space Station will help NASA and its international partners ensure a safe and responsible transition in low Earth orbit at the end of station operations,” said Ken Bowersox, associate administrator of NASA’s Space Operations Mission Directorate. “This decision also supports NASA’s plans for future commercial destinations and allows for the continued use of space near Earth.”

Once the vehicle is developed, NASA will take over and oversee its operation. Like the ISS, it is expected to break up as it throttles toward the Earth. A launch service will be procured in the future—the agency currently uses SpaceX’s Falcon rocket to launch Commercial Crew rotation missions to the orbital laboratory.

Deorbiting the ISS will be the responsibility of the U.S., Canada, Japan, Russia, and member countries of the European Space Agency (ESA). Since 1998, the ESA, NASA, Canadian Space Agency (CSA), Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), and Russia’s Roscosmos have operated the space station, occupying it continuously for almost a quarter of a century.

In that time, it has been used to conduct microgravity experiments, test technologies that could be used to explore the moon and Mars, and, more recently, host commercial activities such as private astronaut missions.

According to an FAQ on NASA’s website, the agency expects itself to eventually become one of several customers, rather than a provider, of those services in a commercial space marketplace. As private companies take over low-Earth orbit operations, it will focus on flying humans to the moon, Mars, and beyond.

The first crewed lunar landing in the Artemis moon program, for example, is scheduled for September 2026. SpaceX is involved in that effort, too, developing the landing system that will put astronauts on the moon’s south pole.

NASA weighed several options for decommissioning the ISS, including a disassembly in space or boost to higher orbit, before settling on a controlled reentry. It will lower the station’s altitude using onboard propulsion before deploying SpaceX’s specially designed deorbit vehicle to bring it back into the atmosphere.

After lining up the debris footprint over an uninhabited area of the ocean, the space agency will give the all clear for one final burn. Most of the laboratory is expected to melt, burn up, or vaporize.

NASA in 2021 selected three private companies—Blue Origin, Northrop Grumman, and Starlab Space, a joint venture between Voyager Space and Airbus—to develop free-flying commercial alternatives to the space station. The firms were awarded space act agreements totaling $415 million.

Another private partner, Axiom Space, is designing four modules that will attach to the ISS and later jettison to form another commercial space lab. The company is in the design review phase and is on schedule to launch its first module in 2026 under a contract worth up to $140 million.

All four spacecraft are expected to be operational before the end of the decade to ensure a smooth transition away from ISS operations, but NASA will first need to certify them.

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Last week, Blue Origin filed a public comment to the FAA requesting that the regulator limit the number of launches of SpaceX’s Starship—the largest and most powerful rocket ever built—out of Launch Complex-39A at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, which currently hosts the company’s Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets.

The FAA in May released a SpaceX proposal for high-frequency Starship operations at Kennedy, including the construction of infrastructure that would allow Musk’s firm to complete 44 launches per year.

The filing is the latest wrinkle in the multiyear feud between Musk and Bezos, who have exchanged taunts and legal actions as they battle for supremacy in the commercial spaceflight industry. Both SpaceX and Blue Origin have obtained contracts from U.S. government agencies such as NASA and the Pentagon and intend to make cosmic tourism a piece of their business.

“Sue Origin,” Musk bantered on social media platform X, which he acquired in 2022.

In a subsequent post, the SpaceX boss added, “An obviously disingenuous response. Not cool of them to try (for the third time) to impede SpaceX’s progress by lawfare.”

The public comment filed by Blue Origin has no legal bearing, but the FAA will consider it as it determines what restrictions to place on Starship at Kennedy.

SpaceX is seeking a commercial launch vehicle operator license for Starship operations at Launch Complex 39-A, which will require the preparation of an environmental impact statement (EIS). The EIS describes the potential effects of those operations on the surrounding environment and was required for SpaceX to begin the Starship orbital test flight program, for example. SpaceX will prepare the assessment itself under FAA supervision.

During Starship’s maiden voyage, which ended in a ball of flames a few minutes into the mission, the impact from the launch caused unexpected damage as far as 6 miles away from the Starbase launchpad in Boca Chica, Texas. The force of Starship broke windows, sent ashy debris into the sky, and brought an FAA investigation into SpaceX’s environmental mitigations, grounding the rocket for months. Five environmental groups sued the FAA over its handling of the mission.

Since then, SpaceX has made several improvements to Starbase to contain Starship’s debris field, and subsequent missions have resulted in little fanfare. However, it appears Blue Origin will use the incident as leverage in its plea to the FAA.

“At Starbase, Starship and Super Heavy test missions have been subject to environmental scrutiny due to their impact on the local environment and community,” the public comment reads, citing the aforementioned lawsuit against the regulator as evidence.

Blue Origin too launches operations out of Kennedy. The company leases Space Launch Complex-36 and occupies several hangars, as well as a manufacturing site, at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS), which it says are close to the area SpaceX wants to use.

“Blue Origin employs over 2,700 full-time employees in [Florida’s] Brevard County, including 449 employees at CCSFS that are directly impacted by local launch activities,” the filing reads. “Blue Origin has invested more than $1 billion in capital expenditures to develop [Launch Complex-36] as the first privately built heavy-lift launch complex in the world.”

The company said it worries about the safety of property and personnel during a Starship launch anomaly, such as an explosion, fire, debris, or loud noise. It also argued that Starship operations could impede Blue Origin’s access to shared infrastructure and “limited airspace and maritime resources.”

Starship and the Super Heavy booster hold about 5,200 metric tons of liquid methane for propulsion—the force of which, Blue Origin claims, would impede company and government activities at Kennedy due to the anticipated requirement of a safety margin around the site.

The firm urged the FAA to place a cap on the number of Starship launches, specify and limit launch times, and invest in infrastructure that would make Kennedy and CCSFS safer and more accessible for other launch providers.

It also suggested that SpaceX and the government be required to compensate Blue Origin or other companies whose commercial activities are impacted by Starship, as well as mandatory penalties for SpaceX should it violate the EIS or its license.

Given Bezos’ history with Musk, it’s difficult to say whether genuine concern, a desire to hamper the competition, or both prompted the comment.

Blue Origin is developing an alternative to Starship, New Glenn, but the rocket has faced delays and has yet to fly. New Glenn has collected a handful of customers, including Amazon’s Project Kuiper and NASA, which intends to launch it to Mars on its maiden voyage later this year.

NASA was at the center of the most publicized dispute between Blue Origin and SpaceX. After the space agency tapped SpaceX as the sole provider of a human landing system (HLS) for Artemis missions to the moon, Bezos in 2021 took NASA to court, arguing that it had promised two contracts.

The company would ultimately lose that battle. But the space agency in 2023 announced Blue Origin as the second Artemis HLS provider. Both companies are now working with NASA to develop a revamped plan for the Mars Sample Return Program, each receiving a $1.5 million contract.

The firms are also competing in the military sphere. In 2022, Blue Origin lost out on a pair of Pentagon contracts at the expense of SpaceX and United Launch Alliance, a joint venture between Boeing and Lockheed Martin. But earlier this month, it secured its own agreement with the U.S. Space Force for 30 military launches, worth up to $5.6 billion.

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