Boeing is set to attempt the return of its troubled Starliner capsule from the International Space Station later this week, with no passengers on board. NASA announced on Wednesday that preparations are on schedule for the Starliner capsule to undock from the space station on Friday evening. The fully automated capsule aims for a touchdown in New Mexico’s White Sands Missile Range six hours later.
The two NASA astronauts who traveled to the space station aboard Starliner will remain at the orbiting lab. They are scheduled to return in February with SpaceX, eight months after what was intended to be a weeklong test flight. Issues with thrusters and helium leaks caused multiple delays, ultimately leading NASA to deem it too risky for the astronauts to return on Starliner as initially planned.
“It’s been a journey to get here and we’re excited to have Starliner return,” said Steve Stich, NASA’s commercial crew program manager.
Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams will close the hatches between Starliner and the space station on Thursday. They are now officially part of the station’s crew, joining seven others in conducting experiments, performing maintenance, and ramping up their exercise routines to combat the effects of prolonged weightlessness.
To accommodate their return on SpaceX’s next mission, the upcoming Dragon capsule will launch with two fewer astronauts, departing from the usual four-person crew. This adjustment was made last week to ensure Starliner’s parking spot is available for SpaceX’s arrival. The mission is slated to launch in late September.
Boeing has faced significant challenges with the Starliner long before its June 5 liftoff on the delayed astronaut demo mission. Starliner’s first test flight in 2019 was marred by software errors, preventing the capsule from reaching the space station and necessitating a repeat of the mission three years later. Subsequent issues led to further delays and over $1 billion in repairs.
Upon reaching the space station, Starliner experienced multiple thruster failures and helium leaks in its propulsion system. Although Boeing asserted that the capsule could safely return the astronauts, NASA opted to keep the astronauts on the space station, triggering the intricate plan to switch them to SpaceX.
Starliner’s departure from the space station will be quicker and simpler than originally planned, employing springs to push away and brief thruster firings to increase the distance gradually. The initial plan included a more prolonged detachment for photograph opportunities, but this was reduced to about 20 minutes to minimize the strain on the thrusters and ensure station safety.
Additional firings of Starliner’s 28 thrusters are planned before the critical descent from orbit. Engineers aim to gather as much data as possible since the section containing the thrusters will be discarded prior to reentry.
The astronauts, both retired Navy captains, are accustomed to life on the space station and have adapted well, according to NASA officials. Despite the changes in their mission’s focus, “they’re just as dedicated to the success of human spaceflight going forward,” stated flight director Anthony Vareha.
Starliner will return with the astronauts’ blue Boeing spacesuits and some old station equipment. NASA enlisted Boeing and SpaceX ten years ago to transport astronauts to and from the space station following the retirement of its shuttle program. SpaceX achieved this goal in 2020 and has since launched nine crews for NASA and four for private clients.
