Boeing’s Starliner is finally back to Earth from the International Space Station (ISS) without its passengers on board- Sunita Williams and Barry E. Wilmore.
At a local time of 0401 GMT (9:30 a.m.), the capsule, with its distinctive gumdrop shape, landed smoothly at White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico.
The Starliner capsule touched down softly, having endured high temperatures of 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit (1,650 degrees Celsius) during atmospheric reentry. Ground teams reported sonic booms as the capsule re-entered the atmosphere at high speed.
Later, after undocking, Starliner performed a critical “breakout burn” to avoid collision risks with the ISS. The mission team then conducted thorough checks of the capsule’s thrusters in preparation for the essential “deorbit burn” needed for a precise reentry path.
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Moreover, its descent was controlled by parachutes and cushioned by airbags. It departed from the ISS about six hours earlier.
The #Starliner spacecraft is back on Earth.
At 12:01am ET Sept. 7, @BoeingSpace’s uncrewed Starliner spacecraft landed in White Sands Space Harbor, New Mexico. pic.twitter.com/vTYvgPONVc
— NASA Commercial Crew (@Commercial_Crew) September 7, 2024
Meanwhile, Starliner faced setbacks due to thruster malfunctions and helium leaks. As a result, NASA decided to bring its astronauts (Sunita William & Barry Wilmore) home via SpaceX Crew Dragon.
Astronauts’ return is now scheduled for February 2025.
