NASA to give status update as Boeing Starliner awaits departure from ISS

June 17 (UPI) -- NASA will join Boeing on Tuesday to review the repeatedly delayed Starliner mission and the craft's departure from the International Space Station as part of the agency's Boeing Crew Flight Test.

The 12 p.m. EDT pre-departure media teleconference will evaluate mission requirements and weather conditions at available landing locations in the southwestern U.S. "before committing to the spacecraft's departure from the orbiting laboratory," according to NASA.

Starliner's return to Earth has been delayed to June 22 or later, the federal space agency announced Friday.

The news conference participants will include Steve Stich, NASA's Commercial Crew Program manager; Dana Weigel, NASA's International Space Station Program manager; Mike Lammers, flight director of NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, and Mark Nappi, Boeing's vice president and program manager for the commercial crew program.

This was the Starliner's second delay in the return to Earth following a recent announcement that the spacecraft would disembark June 18 from the International Space Station.

NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore, 61, and Suni Williams, 58, who embarked on the long-awaited Boeing Starliner mission launch June 5 and docked at the ISS the following day, will have to wait until June 22 or later to return, NASA said last week.

The two astronauts were originally set to complete a full Starliner assessment while on board the ISS in just under a week, but the mission was lengthened due to a need to collect more information about the spacecraft.

The return mission originally was pushed forward to give ISS astronauts more time to perform a space walk originally planned for June 13, but that mission was scrubbed an hour before it started because of what astronauts said was "spacesuit discomfort."

Since arriving at the ISS, Wilmore and Williams have contributed to the station upkeep and assisted with spacewalks and scientific research.

Since then, four other helium leaks have been discovered, as well as a valve in the capsule's service module that was not properly closed.