Boeing’s troubled Starliner capsule heads home from space station with no astronauts on board

In this screen grab from a NASA livestream, the Boeing Starliner spacecraft can be seen lifting off from the International Space Station for an unmanned return to Earth’s surface on September 6, 2024. | Photo credit: AFP

After months of turmoil over safety, Boeing’s new astronaut capsule is ready Departed from the International Space Station It will depart back to Earth without its crew on Friday (September 6, 2024).

Two NASA test pilots remained aboard the space station — their home until next year — as the Starliner capsule undocked 260 miles (420 kilometers) over China as springs slowly pushed it away from the orbiting lab. The return flight was expected to take six hours, with a nighttime landing in the New Mexico desert.

“He’s on his way home,” astronaut Suni Williams said over the radio after exiting the Starliner

Ms Williams and Butch Wilmore were supposed to be back on Earth a week after Starliner launched in June. But thruster failures and a helium leak disrupted their journey to the space station.

NASA ultimately decided it was too risky to bring the two back on the Starliner. So the fully automated capsule departed with its empty seats and blue spacesuits, along with some old station equipment. SpaceX will bring the two back in late February, extending their original eight-day mission to more than eight months.

Boeing’s first astronaut flight culminates a journey filled with delays and setbacks. After the space shuttles were retired more than a decade ago, NASA hired Boeing and SpaceX for orbital taxi service. Boeing encountered so many problems on its first test flight without anyone on board in 2019 that it had to repeat it. A re-flight in 2022 revealed even more flaws and a repair bill that exceeded $1 billion.

SpaceX’s crew ferry flight later this month will be NASA’s 10th such flight since 2020. The Dragon capsule will launch on a half-year expedition with only two astronauts as two seats are reserved for Wilmore and Williams for the return.

As an experienced astronaut and a retired Navy captain, Mr. Wilmore and Ms. Williams anticipated the hurdles of a test flight. They stayed busy in space, helping with repairs and experiments. They are both now full-time station crew members, along with seven others aboard the ship.

Starliner’s propulsion system was leaking helium even before it launched on June 5. The leak was small and thought to be isolated, but four more leaks occurred after takeoff. Then five thrusters failed. Although four thrusters were fixed, it left NASA wondering if more malfunctions could hamper the capsule’s descent from orbit.

Boeing conducted numerous thruster tests in space and on the ground over the summer and was confident its spacecraft could carry Wilmore and Williams home safely. But NASA disagreed and chose SpaceX.

A minute after separating from the space station, the Starliner’s thrusters could be seen firing as the white, blue-trimmed capsule slowly retreated. NASA Mission Control called it a “perfect” departure.

Flight controllers planned more test firings of the capsule’s thrusters after undocking. Engineers suspect that the more thrusters are fired, the hotter they will get, causing protective seals to swell and impede the flow of propellant. They won’t be able to examine any parts; the part holding the thrusters will be removed just before reentry.

Steve Stich, NASA’s commercial crew program manager, said earlier this week that teams were so focused on Starliner’s return that they hadn’t had time to think about what’s next for Boeing. He said the space agency is committed to letting the two competing US companies carry astronauts.