Down to Earth: The Return of Starliner

In this week’s newsletter, learn how to watch today’s live coverage of Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft departure from the International Space Station; join fellow Moon enthusiasts around the world for International Observe the Moon Night on Saturday, Sept.14; and seize the opportunity to see and share the launch of NASA's Europa Clipper at Kennedy Space Center. Plus, more stories you might have missed.

HUMANS IN SPACE

Starliner’s Return to Earth

Live coverage of Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft departure from the International Space Station and return to Earth begins at 5:45 p.m. EDT on Friday, Sept. 6.

NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams launched aboard Starliner on June 5 for its first crewed flight, arriving at the space station on June 6. As Starliner approached the orbiting laboratory, NASA and Boeing identified helium leaks and issues with the spacecraft's reaction control thrusters. For the safety of the astronauts, NASA announced on Aug. 24 that Starliner will return to Earth from the station without a crew. Wilmore and Williams will remain aboard the station and return home in February 2025 aboard the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft with two other crew members assigned to NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 mission.

Starliner is scheduled to autonomously undock from the space station at 6:04 p.m. EDT Friday, Sept. 6, to begin the journey home, weather permitting. NASA and Boeing are targeting 12:03 a.m., Saturday, Sept. 7, for the landing and conclusion of the flight test.

STREAM ON NASA+

HUMANS IN SPACE

Starliner Landing and Recovery

Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft is the first American capsule designed to touch down on land, supporting expedited astronaut and cargo recovery on future missions, and to aid the company in spacecraft refurbishment.

MISSION LANDING TIMELINE

THE SOLAR SYSTEM

September Skywatching

Join fellow Moon enthusiasts around the world for International Observe the Moon Night on Saturday, Sept. 14. A partial lunar eclipse makes the full supermoon on Sept. 17th extra super. Plus, don't miss the chance to observe Venus, Saturn, Mercury, Jupiter, and Mars.

NASA'S SKYWATCHING TIPS

NASA'S EUROPA CLIPPER MISSION

Explore Europa Through Art

Join the NASA Space Place art challenge and imagine what's beneath Europa’s icy surface. Submit artwork by Sept. 30 for a chance to be featured on the NASA Space Place website.

JOIN THE CHALLENGE

NASA'S EUROPA CLIPPER MISSION

Experience the Launch

If your passion is to communicate and engage the world online, then seize the opportunity to see and share the launch of NASA's Europa Clipper at Kennedy Space Center. The deadline to apply is at 10 a.m. EDT on Monday, Sept. 9.

APPLY TODAY

More NASA News

A quarter of a century ago, NASA released the “first light” images from the agency’s Chandra X-ray Observatory. To mark the anniversary of this milestone, new sonifications of three images,including Cassiopeia A, have been released.

NASA’s newest climate mission—the Polar Radiant Energy in the Far-Infrared Experiment—has started collecting key data to better predict how climate change will affect Earth’s ice, seas, and weather—information that will help humanity better prepare for a changing world.

This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image features the spiral galaxy IC 4709 located around 240 million light-years away in the southern constellation Telescopium. If IC 4709’s core just held stars, it wouldn’t be nearly as bright. Instead, it hosts a gargantuan black hole, 65 million times more massive than our Sun.

Do You Know?

On the night of Sept. 6, 2013, NASA launched a mission to the Moon from Wallops Flight Facility, and a still camera on a sound trigger captured this photo with an airborne frog photobombing the scene.

What was the name of the mission that was launched?

A. Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer

B. Lunar Prospector

C. Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter

Find out the answer in next week's edition of the NASA newsletter 🤓

Last week we asked how long the Office of Application and Space Technology (OAST-1) solar array was when fully extended. The answer? 102 ft! On Aug. 30, 1984, space shuttle Discovery lifted off on the STS-41D mission, joining NASA’s fleet as the third space-qualified orbiter. The newest shuttle incorporated newer technologies, including OAST-1. The device was a 102-foot-long extendable and retractable panel containing different types of experimental solar cells. At the time, it was the largest structure deployed from a crewed space vehicle, and Shuttle thruster firings tested the dynamic stability of the array wing.

The Sound of Space

From longform interviews with astronauts and engineers to narrative shows that take you on a tour of the galaxy, NASA podcasts let you experience the thrill of space exploration without ever leaving Earth.

START LISTENING

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