NASA Updates Coverage for Crew Flight Test Launch, Docking to Station

WASHINGTON, June 3, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- NASA will provide live coverage of launch activities for the agency's Boeing Crew Flight Test, which will carry NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams to and from the International Space Station.

Launch of the ULA (United Launch Alliance) Atlas V rocket and Boeing Starliner spacecraft is targeted for 10:52 a.m. EDT Wednesday, June 5, from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Starliner will dock to the forward-facing port of the station's Harmony module at approximately 12:15 p.m., Thursday, June 6.

Wilmore and Williams will remain at the space station for about a week to test the Starliner spacecraft and its subsystems before NASA works to complete final certification of the transportation system for rotational missions to the orbiting laboratory as part of the agency's Commercial Crew Program.

The deadline for media accreditation for in-person coverage of this launch has passed. The agency's media credentialing policy is available online. For questions about media accreditation, please email: [email protected].

NASA's mission coverage is as follows (all times Eastern and subject to change based on real-time operations):

Wednesday, June 5
6:45 a.m. – Launch coverage begins on NASA+, NASA Television, the NASA app, YouTube, and the agency's website.

10:52 a.m. – Launch

Launch coverage on NASA+ will end shortly after Starliner orbital insertion. NASA Television will provide continuous coverage leading up to docking and through hatch opening and welcome remarks.

12:30 p.m. – Postlaunch news conference with the following participants:

• NASA Administrator Bill Nelson
• Ken Bowersox, associate administrator, NASA's Space Operations Mission Directorate
• Joel Montalbano, deputy associate administrator, NASA's Space Operations Mission Directorate
• Steve Stich, manager, NASA's Commercial Crew Program
• Mark Nappi, vice president and program manager, Commercial Crew Program, Boeing
• Tory Bruno, president and CEO, ULA

Coverage of the postlaunch news conference will air live on NASA+, NASA Television, the NASA app, YouTube, and the agency's website.

Media may ask questions in person and via phone. Limited auditorium space will be available for in-person participation. For the dial-in number and passcode, media should contact the Kennedy newsroom no later than one hour before the start of the event at [email protected].

NASA+ will resume coverage and NASA Television's public channel will break from in-orbit coverage to carry the postlaunch news conference. Mission operational coverage will continue on NASA Television's media channel and the agency's website. Once the postlaunch news conference is complete, NASA+ coverage will end, and mission coverage will continue on both NASA channels.

Thursday, June 6
9:30 a.m. – Arrival coverage resumes on NASA+, the NASA app, and YouTube, and continues on NASA Television and the agency's website.

12:15 p.m. – Targeted docking to the forward-facing port of the station's Harmony module

2 p.m. – Hatch opening

2:20 p.m. – Welcome remarks

3:30 p.m. – Post-docking news conference at NASA's Johnson Space Center with the following participants:

• NASA Associate Administrator Jim Free
• Steve Stich, manager, NASA's Commercial Crew Program
• Jeff Arend, manager for systems engineering and integration, NASA's International Space Station Office
• Mark Nappi, vice president and program manager, Commercial Crew Program, Boeing

Coverage of the post-docking news conference will air live on NASA+, NASA Television, the NASA app, YouTube, and the agency's website.

All times are estimates and could be adjusted based on operations after launch. Follow the space station blog for the most up-to-date operations information.

Audio Only Coverage
Audio only of the news conferences and launch coverage will be carried on the NASA "V" circuits, which may be accessed by dialing 321-867-1220, -1240 or -7135. On launch day, "mission audio," countdown activities without NASA Television launch commentary, will be carried on 321-867-7135.

Launch audio also will be available on Launch Information Service and Amateur Television System's VHF radio frequency 146.940 MHz and KSC Amateur Radio Club's UHF radio frequency 444.925 MHz, FM mode, heard within Brevard County on the Space Coast.

Live Video Coverage Prior to Launch
NASA is providing a live video feed of Space Launch Complex-41 on NASA Kennedy's YouTube: https://youtube.com/kscnewsroom. Pending unlikely technical issues, the feed will be uninterrupted until the prelaunch broadcast begins on NASA Television, approximately four hours prior to launch.

NASA Website Launch Coverage
Launch day coverage of the mission will be available on the agency's website. Coverage will include live streaming and blog updates beginning no earlier than 6:45 a.m., June 5, as the countdown milestones occur. On-demand streaming video and photos of the launch will be available shortly after liftoff.

For questions about countdown coverage, contact the Kennedy newsroom at 321-867-2468. Follow countdown coverage on the commercial crew or the Crew Flight Test blog.

Attend Launch Virtually
Members of the public can register to attend this launch virtually. NASA's virtual guest program for this mission also includes curated launch resources, notifications about related opportunities or changes, and a stamp for the NASA virtual guest passport following launch.

Watch, Engage on Social Media
Let people know you're following the mission on X, Facebook, and Instagram by using the hashtags #Starliner and #NASASocial. You can also stay connected by following and tagging these accounts:

X: @NASA, @NASAKennedy, @NASASocial, @Space_Station, @ISS_Research, @ISS National Lab, @BoeingSpace, @Commercial_Crew

Facebook: NASA, NASAKennedy, ISS, ISS National Lab

Instagram: @NASA, @NASAKennedy, @ISS, @ISSNationalLab

Coverage en Espanol
Did you know NASA has a Spanish section called NASA en Espanol? Check out NASA en Espanol on X, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube for additional mission coverage.

Para obtener información sobre cobertura en español en el Centro Espacial Kennedy o si desea solicitar entrevistas en español, comuníquese con Antonia Jaramillo: 321-501-8425; [email protected] o Messod Bendayan: 256-930-1371; [email protected]. 

NASA's Commercial Crew Program has delivered on its goal of safe, reliable, and cost-effective transportation to and from the International Space Station from the United States through a partnership with American private industry. This partnership is changing the arc of human spaceflight history by opening access to low-Earth orbit and the International Space Station to more people, science, and commercial opportunities. The space station remains the springboard to NASA's next great leap in space exploration, including future missions to the Moon and, eventually, to Mars.

For NASA's launch blog and more information about the mission, visit:

https://www.nasa.gov/commercialcrew

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SOURCE NASA