Boeing’s Starliner Makes Safe Return Without Crew
The beleaguered Starliner spacecraft, built by Boeing, successfully landed in New Mexico on Friday just after midnight Eastern time in US, ending a crucial test flight that proved to be a real headache for NASA.
But it flew back to Earth with an empty cabin, leaving behind two test pilots who must now remain on the International Space Station for another five or six months.
The Uncrewed Return Journey
The Starliner left its docking port at the space station just after 6 p.m. ET, according to NASA. The capsule spent about six hours free flying through orbit as it slowly made its descent toward home. Officials at the space agency feared that Starliner’s thrusters might malfunction during its return, just as some thrusters had on its journey to the International Space Station.
Close to midnight, the capsule reached one of the most important and treacherous legs of its test flight: reentry. The milestone required the Starliner to carefully orient itself as it plunged into the thickest part of Earth’s atmosphere while still traveling at orbital speeds — typically more than 17,000 miles per hour (27,400 kilometers per hour).
As with every spacecraft that returns from orbit, the pressure and friction of reentry put immense strain on the craft. The process could have heated up the spacecraft’s exterior to more than 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit (1,649 degrees Celsius).
Troubles with the Space Craft
NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams launched on June 5 aboard Starliner for the agency’s Boeing Crewed Flight Test from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. On June 6, as Starliner approached the space station, NASA and Boeing identified helium leaks and experienced issues with the spacecraft’s reaction control thrusters. Following weeks of in-space and ground testing, technical interchange meetings, and agency reviews, NASA made the decision to prioritize safety and return Starliner without its crew. Wilmore and Williams will continue their work aboard the station. They are expected to return in February 2025 with the agency’s SpaceX Crew-9 mission.
NASA initially said their test flight would last about eight days.
