KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Astronauts from the Boeing Crew Flight Test are expected to arrive back to Earth no earlier than June 25, according to NASA.
The crew includes Butch Wilmore, an astronaut from East Tennessee. He traveled up to space with Suni Williams to test the new Boeing Starliner spacecraft — marking the sixth time that NASA tested new crew transportation spacecraft. They both rode in it to make sure the Starliner could safely take people into space, arriving at the International Space Station on June 6.
On June 14, NASA said leaders planned to bring the crew back to Earth no earlier than 10:10 p.m. EST on June 25. Leaders said they would discuss the details of the new return target, flight status and weather considerations.
In the meantime, NASA said it planned for the Starliner spacecraft to fire seven of its eight aft-facing thrusters while docked to the ISS so that the crew can evaluate its thruster performance. They will also investigate cabin air temperature readings across the cabin, helping to closely measure the spacecraft's life support system temperature.
On Tuesday, NASA said Wilmore and Williams were also helping with research activities on the ISS.
In a release, NASA said Wilmore worked in the Harmony module to help improve the way liquid drugs are transported in human airways while in space. Williams also worked on sequencing microbial and final DNA samples collected from the ISS' water systems, hoping to advance crew health and improve the crew's safety.