Watch live how a broken Boeing Starliner returns to Earth without a crew

Boeing’s Starliner is preparing for its long-awaited return to Earth, leaving two astronauts on board the International Space Station (ISS). It will not be a routine, as Starliner must fly away from the ISS quickly and safely despite its faulty engines and helium leaks.

The faulty Boeing spacecraft is scheduled to undock from the space station at 6:04 p.m. ET on Friday and begin its six-hour journey home. The crew capsule will return without a crew on board and is scheduled to land at White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico at 12:03 a.m. ET on Saturday. To undock, Starliner will perform a boost burn that will put less stress on its engines and help it move away from the space station more quickly.

The undocking and return of the spacecraft will be streamed live on NASA’s website and the space agency’s YouTube channel. You can also watch it in the livestream below. The livestream will begin at 5:45 p.m. ET on Friday with the undocking of the spacecraft and continue at 10:50 p.m. ET with the expected landing of the Starliner.

Boeing’s first manned test to the ISS is finally coming to an end after a less than ideal journey to orbit. And that’s putting it mildly. The spacecraft launched to the ISS on June 5 with NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sunni Williams on board. Starliner was docked at the space station for three months while teams on the ground debated whether or not to return the crew aboard the stricken spacecraft.

During the flight to the ISS, five of the spacecraft’s engines failed and five helium leaks occurred, one of which was discovered before launch. Mission teams conducted tests on the ground to determine the main problem behind the engine failure before ultimately deciding to return an unmanned Starliner and bring back its crew aboard SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft.

The two astronauts Williams and Wilmore will return with SpaceX’s Crew-9 mission. The return of the Starliner crew is now planned for February 2025, after spending around eight months in space and an eight-day stay on board the ISS was originally planned.

The Crewed Flight Test is part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program and is designed to transport crew and cargo to and from the ISS as part of a $4.3 billion contract with the space agency. NASA’s other commercial partner, SpaceX, has sent eight crews to the space station so far and is preparing not only to launch its ninth crew but also to return the stranded Starliner astronauts.

The unmanned return of the Starliner is a major blow to the program, which has suffered numerous delays and technical problems over the years. Let’s just hope that the spacecraft’s journey to Earth goes better than its trip into space. As for the future of the Starliner program, no one can predict anything at this point.

More: Let’s take a look back at Boeing’s ten-year struggle to take people into space with the Starliner