Boeing Starliner Finally Heads Back to Earth After Months Long Delay

Boeing Starliner has finally headed back to Earth after exceeding its two-day stay on the Space Station to nearly three months due to technical issues. The module was undocked from the orbiting laboratory on Friday, September 6 with separation confirmed at 6:04 p.m. Eastern time.

On June 5, Boeing launched Starliner on United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex-41 (SLC-41) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida. The mission carried two NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams.

The mission was a part of data collection on the Starliner system for certification by the space agency for regular human flights to space.

The spacecraft reached the station within two days but that’s where the problem began. Afterward, the Starliner crew and NASA decided to return the crewed flight back to Earth one week later to complete the mission.

With a return booster test, the company found some issues in the thrusters. The technical aspect of the pod has throttled NASA’s return plan.

Boeing Starliner Spacecraft Undocked from International Space Station (Source – NASA)

Boeing and NASA organized several briefings for Starliner. However, flight operators and the agency couldn’t decide on the final return.

In late August, NASA eventually called off the crewed Starliner and gave it a go for undocking. Instead, SpaceX will host Willmore and Williams with its Crew-9 mission in February 2025.

The space agency and SpaceX are working together to optimize the Dragon spacecraft for the upcoming astronauts. It was previously planned to launch with four astronauts but now it will only have two and leave the two unoccupied for homecoming

Meanwhile, the Starliner will make several maneuvers to achieve a trajectory toward Earth and perform a deorbit burn at 11:17 p.m. and a targeted landing at 12 a.m. Saturday, September 7 at White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico.

(Source)