Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft is preparing for its return to Earth from the International Space Station (ISS), leaving behind two astronauts. This return journey, scheduled for Friday, is fraught with challenges due to malfunctioning thrusters and helium leaks experienced during the mission.
The unmanned capsule is set to undock at 6:04 p.m. ET on Friday, embarking on a six-hour descent to White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico, with a targeted landing time of 12:03 a.m. ET on Saturday. A modified “breakout burn” undocking procedure will be used to minimize stress on the faulty thrusters and ensure a safe departure from the ISS.
NASA will provide live coverage of the undocking and landing on its website and YouTube channel. The livestream will commence at 5:45 p.m. ET for the undocking and resume at 10:50 p.m. ET for the landing. You can find links to these streams below.
This marks the conclusion of a problematic Crewed Flight Test, which began with Starliner’s launch on June 5, carrying NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sunni Williams. The spacecraft’s journey to the ISS was plagued by the failure of five thrusters and the discovery of five helium leaks, one detected before launch.
Extensive ground testing was conducted to diagnose the thruster issues. Ultimately, the decision was made to return Starliner without its crew and utilize SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft for the astronauts’ return.
Williams and Wilmore will now return to Earth with SpaceX’s Crew-9 mission, significantly extending their mission duration. Their Starliner flight, initially planned for eight days, will now conclude in February 2025 after an approximately eight-month stay on the ISS.
This mission is part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, a $4.3 billion contract with Boeing aimed at facilitating crew and cargo transport to and from the ISS. SpaceX, NASA’s other commercial partner, has successfully launched eight crewed missions to the space station and is preparing for its ninth, which will also bring back the Starliner astronauts.
Starliner’s unmanned return represents a setback for the program, which has been marred by delays and technical difficulties. The successful completion of this return trip is crucial. The future of the Starliner program remains uncertain.
For further reading on the challenges faced by Boeing’s Starliner program, see: Let’s Look Back at Boeing’s 10-Year Struggle to Launch Humans on Starliner.
