‘Our friends are home’

Megan Donaldson’s phone vibrates repeatedly.

“Sorry,” she said. “It’s part of the job.” She looks at the new text message and smiles. “It’s one of the astronauts now, actually. We’re in constant communication these days.”

Donaldson has a unique and multifaceted role. She works as Boeing’s astronaut liaison, preparing NASA’s Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams as well as backup pilot Mike Fincke — and their families — for their round trip on the Boeing CST-100 Starliner from the U.S. to the International Space Station.

She also serves as the Space Flight Awareness program manager, a NASA-led program that communicates the importance of flight safety and facilitates a relationship between the astronauts and the Starliner team.

“When Boeing employees feel connected to the astronauts, they take ownership of the crew’s safety and drive mission success,” she said. “It’s an important relationship to build.”

She is one of several Boeing teammates who will speak face to face with Wilmore and Williams before liftoff, and she’ll be with their families leading into launch.

“It’s important the families have someone at Boeing they know personally,” Donaldson said. “I consider it a privilege to have a relationship with not only the astronauts — but those who love them most.”

When the Starliner lands, Donaldson will be there, anxiously waiting to greet the astronauts.

Though she isn’t sure what she will say to Williams and Wilmore at launch or landing, she does know it will be “heartfelt, emotional and something to make them laugh.”

Deanna Dobson knows just how much details matter.

As a subsystems engineer, she’s charged with safely storing cargo onboard the Starliner while making sure it’s easily accessible for the crew when they need it. After landing, she’ll unload the spacecraft, including important data-collecting devices.

“Cargo doesn’t just mean large bags,” Dobson said. “It even means the kind of container the astronauts use to drink water and where that’s stored. No detail is too small when you’re sending your friends to space.” 

Dobson, who’s worked closely with the astronauts for more than two years, says this mission feels different.

“I know them. I’ve met their families,” she said. “I will do anything I can to make sure they’re taken care of.”

Dobson has no doubt they’re in the best hands.

“I’ll see them right before they quarantine,” she said. “I plan to hug them and say, ‘I promise, we built you a good ship.’”

Four hours before launch, or “L-4 hours,” Rodney Perry and Blake Poston will transport precious cargo — astronauts Wilmore and Williams — to the launch pad through Kennedy Space Center and over to Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

During the 20-minute drive, Perry will take the wheel of the Astrovan while Poston monitors the radio, getting minute-by-minute updates on the status of the Starliner spacecraft and the launch vehicle.

Perry, a production coordinator who supports the Boeing coast logistics center, knows how unique this opportunity is.

“The chance to drive the Astrovan fell into my lap thanks to Blake,” he said. “I couldn’t pass up the opportunity. Who actually gets to drive astronauts to a launch pad? It’s pretty cool.”

Poston, a driver who handles transportation logistics for Boeing’s space programs, knew he and Perry would make a good team.

“Because of my role, I was asked who I thought a good driver would be,” Poston said. “I knew Rodney was the man for the job.”

So far, they’ve had two practice runs with the astronauts in tow. 

“They are about as nice as nice can be,” Perry said.

“Just down-to-earth, fun people,” Poston added. “Knowing them makes transporting them safely all the more important.”

“That’s right,” Perry said. “We’ll get them to that launch vehicle, and we’ll look forward to when they get home.”

After the Starliner’s astronauts arrive and board the spacecraft, the man known as “Chief” will perform a final leak check of the crew module.

“They probably call me that because I’ve been around a while,” said Michael Decarlo, a Starliner system engineering technician who helps oversee the technicians doing the meticulous propellant loading. “This marks 110 launches for me, so I have crossed paths with many astronauts, including Suni.”

Decarlo earned a coveted role on Starliner’s Pad Team A — a group responsible for final spacecraft configuration, crew insertion, hatch closure and leak checks at launch.

As he does his final checks, Decarlo knows how he plans to send off Wilmore and Williams.

“I’m a child of the ’70s,” he said. “I’ll look them square in the face and say, ‘It’s time to rock and roll!’”

Standing next to Decarlo at launch will be Starliner product repair and modification technician Garrett Pinder. He, along with another Starliner Quality Production specialist Cason Chernault, is responsible for closing the spacecraft’s hatch.

“I’ll be on the pad to help close the hatch and serve as an extra set of eyes who can troubleshoot any issues that arise — but I don’t expect that to happen,” Pinder said.

Pinder, who helped build the rig that opens and closes the hatch, knows the importance of his role during the Starliner’s first flight with astronauts. 

“When you have crew on board, everything feels different,” he said. “But I’ve been with this vehicle from day one, and I’d be the first to take a ride if given the chance. That’s how much faith I have in our team and our spacecraft.”

In fact, Pinder doesn’t plan to say goodbye to the astronauts at all. After he helps strap Wilmore and Williams in their seats and stands at the ready as the hatch closes, he said, “A simple ‘See you when you get back,’ will do.”

When the Starliner completes its journey to space, landing on U.S. soil, Calvin Dunn and Daniel Quinn will be ready for their roles. Once it’s confirmed the spacecraft is safe to approach, one of them will open the hatch. Dunn will be at the primary landing site and Quinn at a backup site.

This makes them the first face the astronauts will see after reentering Earth’s atmosphere.

“Even if I won the lottery tonight, I’d be there to open that hatch,” said Dunn, who helped build the Starliner spacecraft and now also works on hardware for the International Space Station. At landing, however, he’ll serve on Starliner’s Landing and Recovery Team.  “I’m not here for me. I’m here for the mission.”

Quinn, a lead spacecraft technician, who is also on the landing team, feels the same way after being on the program for 10 years.

After the team retrieves and transports the astronauts, they’ll prepare the reusable spacecraft for shipment back to Kennedy Space Center. There, the team will refurbish the Starliner for its next trip to space.

As for his role as the crew touches down on landing day, Dunn hasn’t planned exactly what he’ll say. He says it will probably be along the lines of, “Hey! Welcome back. You alright in there?”

The first thing Quinn plans to say if he’s the lucky one to open the hatch is: “Welcome home! Congratulations on the historic completion of the first crewed Starliner mission!”

Anxiously waiting in the medical truck on landing day will be Tori  Wills Pedrotty. 

Serving as spacesuit lead for the Starliner mission, she works with suppliers on building the suits and with the astronauts on making sure they’re comfortable in them.

“As an engineer, I look at the suits analytically,” she said. “They’re more than spacesuits. They’re also a lifeline, pressurizing and providing oxygen if needed in an emergency. It’s vital they work exactly as planned.”

Wills Pedrotty regularly interacts with Williams and Wilmore, answering questions and taking notes of any suit adjustments they request.

“We’re lucky we know them so well,” Wills Pedrotty said. “They’re part of our team.”

On landing day, Wills will be there to help the crew doff the suits once safely in the truck.

“I can’t wait. I don’t just know the suits, I know the people in them. I’ll probably hug them and cry,” she said.

“And when I finally get to hug them, I’ll know we did it — our friends are home.”

For more Starliner highlights, follow @BoeingSpace on X, formerly known as Twitter, starlinerupdates.com and the CFT mission website.