Boeing's Starliner spacecraft, used by NASA in June to launch two astronauts to the International Space Station, has returned to Earth without its crew.
It made a safe, controlled, autonomous re-entry into Earth's atmosphere and touched down at 10:01 p.m. MDT on Sept. 6 at White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico, concluding the Boeing Crewed Flight Test, which lasted for three months. It was meant to last eight days.
Why did Starliner return without astronauts? Starliner launched on June 6, piloted by two NASA astronauts, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams. The plan was for them to stay for a short time on the ISS, but after helium leaks and issues with the spacecraft's reaction control thrusters, NASA deemed it too risky for them to return to Earth in the vehicle.
NASA eventually rearranged its crew rotation plans for the ISS so Wilmore and Williams could become permanent parts of the current Expedition 71/72 crew. They will return to Earth in February 2025 in a SpaceX Dragon capsule -- their planned eight days in space will by then have become eight months.
"Even though it was necessary to return the spacecraft uncrewed, NASA and Boeing learned an incredible amount about Starliner in the most extreme environment possible," said Ken Bowersox, associate administrator of Space Operations Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington, in a press statement. "NASA looks forward to our continued work with the Boeing team to proceed toward certification of Starliner for crew rotation missions to the space station."
One effect of the Starliner debacle is that the SpaceX Crew-9 mission, due to launch on Tuesday, Sept. 24, will now have not four but two astronauts on board. NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov will launch to the ISS in the Dragon capsule that will ultimately bring Wilmore and Williams home.
The need for two empty seats means two NASA astronauts, Zena Cardman and Stephanie Wilson, miss out. It would have been Carman's first spaceflight.
The stricken Starliner spacecraft will now travel from New Mexico to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida for inspection.
"This was an important test flight for NASA in setting us up for future missions on the Starliner system," said Steve Stich, manager of NASA's Commercial Crew Program, in a press release. "There was a lot of valuable learning that will enable our long-term success. I want to commend the team for their hard work and dedication over the past three months."