This Saturday, NASA officials are expected to announce plans regarding how astronauts from the Boeing Starliner rocket will safely return to Earth.

Nasa Administrator Bill Nelson is set to lead a live news briefing at 1 p.m. EDT on Saturday from the Johnson Space Center in Houston. This conference will be broadcast on television and streamed online, approximately one hour after Nelson’s closed-door meeting with NASA and Boeing officials for a flight-readiness evaluation.

The public may learn if the Boeing Starliner crew will return to Earth aboard the same spacecraft that took them into orbit or if they will have to wait until February to travel back on a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft.

This flight-readiness review is uncommon mid-mission, but it is critical for flight engineers to assess whether the struggling Starliner can safely bring astronauts Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Sunita “Suni” Williams back to Earth, or if the spacecraft will have to undock without any crew onboard.

Find alternative ways to watch NASA’s news briefing

In contrast to recent briefings concerning Starliner, which were primarily aimed at the media, Saturday’s event will be openly accessible to the public and feature direct involvement from the NASA administrator.

You can watch the briefing on NASA+, NASA Television, the NASA app, their official website, and their YouTube channel.

What challenges has the Boeing Starliner faced?

The troubled Starliner had multiple setbacks even before it successfully launched on June 5 from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, for its first crewed test flight.

Initially, Wilmore and Williams were only scheduled to stay aboard the International Space Station (ISS) for slightly over a week before returning home. However, after they reached the ISS a day post-launch, engineers discovered several helium leaks and issues with the propulsion system, which have complicated the Starliner’s return process.

Amid the efforts to resolve the Starliner’s issues, NASA previously decided to delay the launch of SpaceX’s Crew-9 mission.

Originally, that mission was to launch earlier in August to replace the Crew-8 team at the ISS, which has been stationed there since March. The Crew-9 team cannot reach the station until the docking port currently occupied by the Starliner is cleared. According to NASA, they can now expect a launch no sooner than September 24.

In order to avoid further delays, Starliner must undock by that date, with or without a crew. Whether two or four astronauts will be dispatched to the ISS for the six-month Crew-9 rotation hinges on whether Wilmore and Williams are aboard Starliner when it departs.

If Starliner undocks without any crew onboard, Wilmore and Williams will need to find space to return home on February 25 via a Dragon spacecraft after the Crew-9 mission completes its rotation.

Meanwhile, the astronauts have been engaged in scientific research and maintenance tasks aboard the ISS alongside the Expedition 71 crew during their extended stay, as per NASA’s reports.