NASA announced today that they have postponed the launch of the Crew-9 mission to the International Space Station (ISS) to no earlier than Tuesday, September 24, 2024. According to NASA this decision allows additional time for mission managers to finalize the return plans for the agency’s Boeing Crew Flight Test, which is currently docked at the ISS.
Starliner Delays Backlog ISS Docking Ports
The problems in scheduling boil down primarily to available docking ports at the ISS, but the additional resources required to support astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore long after their planned departure no doubt create additional logistical issues.
The International Space Station (ISS) has a total of eight docking ports. This includes four docking ports located in the Russian segment and four berthing ports in the US segment. Out of these eight ports, four can be used for crewed flights. Specifically, the US segment has two ports that are equipped for commercial crew vehicles, such as SpaceX’s Crew Dragon and Boeing’s Starliner, while the Russian segment has its own ports that can accommodate crewed Soyuz spacecraft. Both US ports are currently in use with Crew 8’s Crew Dragon and Starliner at the ISS. In short, SOMEONE has to leave before Crew-9 can dock.
The delay in freeing up a docking port comes as ground teams for Boeing’s Starliner capsule continue to analyze the results of recent hot-fire testing and confirm the system’s reliability. The Starliner, which launched on June 5 with NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore aboard, encountered issues, including the failure of five of its 28 reaction control system thrusters. The mission was to have lasted nine days, but now multiple indefinite extensions to gather data have thrown the ISS schedule into a backlog. The resolution of these issues is critical for ensuring a safe return of the spacecraft to Earth. NASA and Boeing are diligently working on assessing the spacecraft’s readiness, but no specific timeline for Starliner’s return has been established yet . Nasa has indicated they will be releasing an update on Starliner tomorrow.
The Crew-9 mission adjustment also helps ease conflicts with other scheduled space activities. Specifically, it prevents overlap with the upcoming Soyuz handover targeted for mid-September and the pad preparations for NASA’s Europa Clipper mission at Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A. Furthermore, the launch of SpaceX’s 31st commercial resupply mission has been rescheduled to mid-October to accommodate these changes.
Crew-9 will mark SpaceX’s ninth operational flight to the ISS under NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. The mission will feature NASA astronauts Zena Cardman (commander), Nick Hague (pilot), Stephanie Wilson (mission specialist), and Alexsandr Gorbunov from Russia’s Roscosmos (mission specialist). This crew will replace the Crew-8 team, who have been aboard the ISS since March 2024 and are preparing for their return .
A media teleconference is scheduled for August 7 at 12:30 p.m. EDT, where NASA leadership will discuss ongoing operations, including details about the Crew-9, Crew-8, and the Boeing Crew Flight Test missions. This session is expected to provide more clarity on the mission schedules and the current status of the Starliner spacecraft.
