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.
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.Helium Leaks
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.
