When are the Starliner astronauts coming home from the ISS? Here's the plan
The two astronauts who in June flew to orbit on the Boeing Starliner's first crewed flight test are poised to at long last return to Earth this month.
Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore's highly anticipated homecoming is set to take place in the days after a SpaceX mission reaches the International Space Station after its scheduled launch next week. The four spacefarers arriving on that mission, known as Crew-10, will pave the way for Williams and Wilmore to depart with the Crew-9 team.
When the departing astronauts board a SpaceX Dragon docked at the outpost since September, it will represent the culmination of a return mission NASA laid out months ago – seemingly contrary to President Donald Trump's claim that he "authorized" SpaceX CEO Elon Musk to retrieve the astronauts.
But even when the Crew-10 replacement mission reaches the space station as early as Thursday morning, the Starliner astronauts won't be able to come home right away. So when, exactly, could Williams and Wilmore return to Earth?
Here's what we know:
What happened with the Boeing Starliner?
As the two astronauts selected for the Starliner's first crewed flight test, Wilmore and Williams launched in June on a mission to test a Boeing vehicle intended to one day join the SpaceX Dragon in transporting NASA astronauts to orbit.
The mission was supposed to be a 10-day stay at the ISS. But that was before NASA discovered that the Starliner spacecraft had experienced multiple helium leaks and propulsion system issues.
After months of deliberating, NASA officials decided that instead of having Wilmore and Williams return to Earth on Starliner, the agency would undock the empty vehicle for an autonomous landing in September in New Mexico.
How are the Starliner astronauts returning to Earth?
Under NASA's plan, first announced in August, it was decided that Wilmore and Williams would instead make their return journey aboard the Starliner's potential future competitor, a SpaceX Dragon.
The specific Dragon selected as Williams and Wilmore's ride back to Earth has since been at the station since late-September after arriving with the Crew-9 mission.
Though that mission was the ninth science rotation mission to the station under NASA's commercial crew program, it was the first without a full contingent of four astronauts. Astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov were the only Crew-9 spacefarers sent to the orbital outpost on a Dragon with two empty seats reserved for the Starliner astronauts when their mission concludes.
When could the SpaceX Crew-10 mission launch?
Before the Starliner crew members can depart with the Crew-9 team, they must await the arrival of the mission's successors.
The Dragon capsule transporting the four-member crew of Crew-10 is due to launch at 7:48 p.m. EST March 12 aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, NASA said in a mission blog update. The U.S. space agency plans to provide coverage of both the crew's launch from Florida and arrival at the space station the following morning.
The launch date for the Crew-10 mission, originally anticipated to get off the ground in February, has twice fluctuated since December.
NASA initially announced that the launch had been pushed to late March to give SpaceX more time to prepare a new Dragon capsule for liftoff. However, the launch date was moved back up to mid-March when NASA reconsidered and decided to use a "previously flown" Dragon named Endurance.
When could Starliner astronauts, Crew-9 depart ISS?
Once the new astronauts arrive, a few days of handover activities will occur before Williams and Wilmore can join Crew-9 in the SpaceX Dragon to undock from the International Space Station.
While NASA has provided targeted times for the Crew-10 launch and arrival at the space station, the agency has not yet released a date for the targeted return of Crew-9.
"NASA will provide additional information on the Crew-9 return timeline in the coming days," a spokesperson said Thursday in an email to Paste BN.
Wilmore, however, previously told CNN that the return voyage could possibly take place March 19.
Eric Lagatta covers breaking and trending news for Paste BN. Reach him at elagatta@gannett.com