Boeing's Starliner spacecraft returns to Earth without astronauts
NASA gives update on Starliner landing in New Mexico
Boeing's troubled Starliner spacecraft returned home to Earth Friday night without astronauts, marking the end of the journey that started as an eight-day test mission and ended in a three-month odyssey that leaves two NASA astronauts in space until next year.
Boeing’s troubled Starliner spacecraft returned to Earth unmanned overnight Friday, leaving two astronauts behind because NASA deemed their return too risky.
RELATED: Boeing, NASA execs reportedly fought in meetings over how to bring back stranded astronauts
The module parachuted down to the designated landing site in White Sands, New Mexico just after 10 p.m. local time after a six-hour autonomous flight home from the International Space Station.
NASA and Boeing welcomed Starliner back to Earth at 12:01am ET on Saturday, Sept. 7, following the uncrewed spacecrafts landing in New Mexico. (NASA)
"Even though it was necessary to return the spacecraft uncrewed, NASA and Boeing learned an incredible amount about Starliner in the most extreme environment possible," Ken Bowersox, a NASA associate administrator, said in a statement. "NASA looks forward to our continued work with the Boeing team to proceed toward certification of Starliner for crew rotation missions to the space station."
RELATED: NASA astronaut stuck in space reports ‘strange noises’ coming from troubled Starliner capsule
It was an uneventful close to a drama that began with the June launch of Boeing's long-delayed crew debut and quickly escalated into a dragged-out cliffhanger of a mission stricken by thruster failures and helium leaks. For months, NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams’ return was in question as engineers struggled to understand the capsule’s problems.
NASA explains strange sound on Starliner
The "strange noises" heard by NASA astronaut Butch Wilmore coming from Boeing's Starliner capsule over the weekend are apparently strange no more. NASA said in a Monday morning post on X, formerly Twitter, that it has determined what the mystery sounds were. Ken Kremer, Founder & managing editor of Space UpClose, joins LiveNOW from FOX to discuss.
Boeing insisted after extensive testing that Starliner was safe to bring the two home, but NASA disagreed and booked a flight with SpaceX instead. Their SpaceX ride won’t launch until the end of this month, which means they’ll be up there until February — more than eight months after blasting off on what should have been a quick trip.