NASA is planning for Friday, September 6, to make a return of Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft, which is now on the International Space Station (ISS). The return will take place almost three months later than planned and will take place without a crew on board. The journey is expected to last about six hours, after which the spacecraft will land at White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico.
Starliner has remained docked to the ISS since June after completing its first crewed test flight with NASA astronauts Sunny Williams and Butch Wilmore. However, during the June 6 approach to the station, an engine problem and a helium leak were discovered. These engines are extremely critical for the return to Earth, so NASA suspended the return to Earth to investigate the problem and make sure of the spacecraft’s safety for the astronauts.
After extensive reviews, NASA has decided that Williams and Wilmore will return home on another spacecraft, the SpaceX Crew Dragon, in February 2025, while the Starliner will return uncrewed. That flight will be a crucial one for Boeing’s spacecraft. NASA noted that Starliner would make an autonomous return under the control of air traffic controllers in Houston and Florida. If necessary, crews on the ground will be able to remotely control the spacecraft to safely undock and land.
This will be Starliner’s third flight. The first one in 2019 was unsuccessful, when the spacecraft failed to reach the ISS, but returned successfully. The second flight was successful in 2022, with a safe docking and return to Earth.
We previously reported on how Starliner problems put astronauts’ lives at risk.
According to space.com
