In this image from video provided by NASA, an unmanned Boeing Starliner spacecraft undocks as it leaves the International Space Station on Friday, Sept. 6, 2024.
NASA | via AP
BoeingStarliner detached from the International Space Station on Friday, months later than originally scheduled, but without the two astronauts it carried into orbit in early June.
Instead, NASA test pilots Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams will remain on the ISS for the rest of the year before returning to Earth aboard SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft in February.
The spacecraft departed the space station at 6:04 p.m. ET on Friday. The capsule is expected to take about six hours to return to Earth and reach its landing site at White Sands Spaceport in New Mexico. NASA said it could be visible from parts of western Mexico and the southwestern U.S. before landing.
NASA officials said Wednesday that the undocking procedure will be slightly different than a crewed one to protect the ISS and because there will be no astronauts on board who can take manual control if necessary.
“We’re rooting for you. You’re going to be OK,” Williams told mission controllers on Friday at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston before the undocking. “Get her back to Earth. Good luck.”
The return of Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft Calypso marks the end of a much longer test flight than NASA had originally anticipated, and one that didn’t go as planned: NASA repeatedly delayed the spacecraft’s return, citing the desire to gather more data about its problematic propulsion system.
Starliner was originally scheduled to stay in space for about nine days, but instead stayed on the ISS for about three months while Boeing investigated the capsule’s thruster problems. Boeing officials assured the press conference that, despite multiple delays in the return, Starliner was capable of carrying astronauts back to Earth if an emergency occurred.
But in late August, NASA officials ultimately decided to send Starliner back empty, citing a desire to “further understand the root cause” of the spacecraft’s problems.
In this image from video provided by NASA, the unmanned Boeing Starliner spacecraft fires its thrusters as it detaches from the International Space Station on Friday, Sept. 6, 2024.
NASA | via AP
The crewed test flight of Starliner was meant to be the final step for Boeing and a key addition for NASA, which wanted two rival companies, Boeing and Elon Musk’s SpaceX, to have the ability to alternate missions to the ISS.
Instead, the test flight will slow Boeing’s progress in NASA’s Commercial Crew Program and could jeopardize the company’s future participation in the program, after it has already absorbed more than $1.5 billion in losses.
