Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft successfully departed from the International Space Station (ISS) on Friday evening and safely landed in White Sands, New Mexico early Saturday morning. The spacecraft made the journey without astronauts Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Sunita “Suni” Williams onboard.
The Starliner autonomously undocked from the ISS at 6:04 PM New York time on Friday. Following undocking, the spacecraft performed a “breakout burn” to avoid any potential collision with the ISS.
The uncrewed Starliner spacecraft touched down at White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico at 12:01 AM on Saturday, September 7. This marked the end of a mission that experienced unexpected engine failures and helium leaks, leading to a flawed three-month mission instead of the planned week-long journey for Wilmore and Williams.
NASA officials decided that Wilmore and Williams will now return to Earth in a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft in February, extending their stay on the ISS to eight months. Despite the challenges faced by the Starliner spacecraft, NASA’s commercial crew program manager described the landing in White Sands as a “bullseye landing.”
Boeing is now regrouping and planning for future missions with the Starliner spacecraft. Meanwhile, the competition in the space industry remains fierce, with SpaceX continuing to lead the way in space exploration.