Boeing’s troubled Starliner made its long-awaited return to Earth on Saturday, but without the astronauts who were supposed to ride it back from the International Space Station.
NASA deemed the return trip too risky due to unexpected thruster malfunctions and helium leaks encountered en route to the space station. The astronauts, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams will instead return on a SpaceX Crew Dragon, with their return now scheduled for February 2025.
The gumdrop-shaped Starliner touched down gently at White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico, having departed from the space station about six hours earlier. Despite a flawless landing and a successful reentry, which included enduring temperatures of 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit and producing sonic booms, Boeing was notably absent from the post-flight press conference.
NASA’s Steve Stich praised the landing but noted new issues, such as the failure of a thruster and temporary loss of the guidance system. The next Starliner flight, scheduled for August 2025, may or may not be crewed, depending on further data analysis. Boeing’s Starliner program has struggled with delays and technical setbacks, lagging behind SpaceX’s successful crewed missions since 2020.
With the space station set to be decommissioned in 2030, the pressure is on for Starliner to demonstrate its capabilities.
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