Boeing Starliner to return on September 6 without Sunita Williams, Barry Wilmore | Technology News
After nearly two months, Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft seems finally gearing up to return to Earth. The spacecraft that took off on June 5 with astronauts Sunita Williams and Barry Wilmore, suffered helium leaks and multiple thruster failures, following which the duo was stranded on the International Space Station (ISS).
On Thursday evening, days after Nasa officially announced that the stranded astronauts will return on the SpaceX Crew Dragon, the space agency said that Starliner will leave the ISS on September 6. The departure is subject to weather conditions and if there are no technical issues.
Nasa said that if all goes as planned, the capsule will undock at 6:04 PM EDT (around 3:30 PM IST) on September 6. It would likely land under parachutes six hours later at White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico.
After launching on June 5, Starliner with its first-ever crewed mission docked successfully to the ISS a day later. However, the docking was following helium leaks and five of its 28 thrusters failed on its way to the orbiting lab. The mission, a Crew Flight Test (CFT) was intended for around 10 days. However, following the technical glitches, Nasa and Boeing extended the spacecraft’s orbital stay multiple times till they were able to examine the thruster issue and to see if it may hinder the capsule’s return.
After it was reported that Williams and Wilmore were stranded on ISS, several reports surfaced about their stay, health condition, and potential dangers of returning on the Starliner. However, on August 25, Nasa addressed a press conference where it officially said that the duo will be returning on Elon Musk’s SpaceX Crew Dragon early next year.
Nasa officials also said that both astronauts are safe and prepared to stay longer. The agency said that Williams and Wilmore will be using their spare time aboard ISS to conduct science experiments along with the station’s seven astronauts. The SpaceX Crew Dragon is due to be launched next month as part of a routine astronaut rotation mission and is expected to return in February 2025 along with Williams and Wilmore. The Crew Dragon has four seats, two of which will be kept empty for Wilmore and Williams.
In the middle of all this, Nasa’s decision to pitch Boeing’s rival SpaceX for the return is one of its most consequential decisions. Boeing was optimistic about the Starliner mission with hopes that it would revive the troubled program after years of development issues and budget overruns.
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