Boeing flies empty capsule without two NASA astronauts back to Earth

NASA announced on Wednesday that everything was on schedule and that the Starliner capsule could undock from the space station on Friday evening.

The fully automatic capsule is scheduled to land six hours later at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico.

NASA’s two stranded astronauts who flew up on Starliner will remain behind at the orbiting lab. They will return home with SpaceX in February, eight months after launch on the week-long test flight.

Engine problems and helium leaks repeatedly delayed their return until NASA decided it would be too risky to bring them back on the Starliner as originally planned.

“It’s been a journey to get here and we’re excited to see Starliner come home,” said Steve Stich, NASA’s Commercial Crew Program Manager.

Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams of NASA, along with the seven others on board, are now considered full-time members of the station crew, helping with experiments and maintenance.

To make room for them on SpaceX’s next taxi flight, the Dragon capsule will launch with two astronauts instead of the usual four. Two astronauts were pulled late last week from the six-month expedition, which is scheduled to launch in late September. Boeing must clear the parking space for SpaceX’s arrival.

Boeing had discovered serious defects in the Starliner long before the launch of the long-delayed astronaut demonstration on June 5.

The Starliner’s first test flight in 2019 went so badly—the capsule never reached the space station due to software errors—that the mission was repeated three years later. More problems arose, leading to even more delays and more than a billion dollars worth of repairs.

When the capsule reached the space station after launch, it had several engine failures and helium leaks in the propulsion system. Boeing conducted extensive engine tests in space and on the ground and was convinced that the capsule could bring the astronauts back safely. But NASA disagreed and set the complex space transport in motion.

The stranded astronauts – retired Navy captains – have lived on the space station before and have settled in well, according to NASA officials.

NASA hired Boeing and SpaceX a decade ago to transport its astronauts to the space station and back after its shuttles were retired. SpaceX accomplished the feat in 2020 and has since launched nine crews for NASA and four for private clients.