Starliner left the International Space Station on Friday evening, September 6, and then successfully landed in New Mexico after midnight on Saturday, September 7, at around 4 a.m. GMT.
The landing, which took about six hours, marked the end of the Crew Flight Test (CFT), the first-ever astronaut mission of a Starliner. But no astronauts were on board the capsule Saturday, as problems with the Reaction Control System (RCS) engines occurred shortly after the crew’s launch on June 5, and NASA decided not to risk the lives of Sonny Williams and Butch Wilmore aboard the capsule again.
A live broadcast from NASA showed Starliner returning to Earth without any obstacles, completing the final, crucial phase of its mission.
The spacecraft re-entered Earth’s atmosphere at orbital speeds of about 27,400 km/h (17,025 mph).
About 45 minutes later, it deployed a series of parachutes to slow its descent and inflated a set of airbags moments before it touched down at White Sands Spaceport, a barren desert in New Mexico.
NASA astronauts Williams and Wilmore were supposed to return to Earth with the Starliner in June, after just a week aboard the space station, but propulsion system failures and helium leaks ruined their trip to the space station. Instead, they will remain on the International Space Station for the rest of the year and return in February aboard SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft.
NASA eventually decided it was too risky to put Williams and Wilmore back on the Starliner, so the capsule contained empty seats and blue spacesuits along with some old station equipment.
The journey to return the astronauts home in the capsule was considered extremely risky.
After Starliner’s return, a NASA spokesman said he was happy with the successful landing but wished things could have gone as originally planned.
This was the first test flight of Boeing‘s Starliner spacecraft with astronauts on board.
Despite the manufacturer’s attempts to convince NASA of the vehicle’s safety, the agency preferred to return the astronauts via a SpaceX vehicle in February of next year.
“From a human perspective, we’re all happy about a successful landing, but there’s a part of us, all of us, that wishes it had gone the way we planned,” Steve Stich, NASA’s Commercial Crew Program manager, said in a press briefing following the landing.
“There is clearly work to be done,” he added, and it would take “a little bit of time” to determine what happens next.
During the landing, the briefing committee consisted of only NASA officials, and no Boeing representatives were present.
When asked about the absence, NASA official Joel Montalbano said Boeing had decided to “outsource the mission to NASA.”
Instead, Boeing issued a statement “to acknowledge the work done by the Starliner teams to ensure a successful and safe deorbit, reentry, and landing.”
Boeing will review the data and determine next steps for the program, she said.
Source: The Guardian
#Starliner #crashes #leaving #NASA #astronauts #stranded #orbit
2024-09-09 19:00:10
What were the main reasons that led to the decision not to have astronauts onboard during the Starliner Crew Flight Test return to Earth?
Table of Contents
Starliner Completes Crew Flight Test, Returns to Earth Without Astronauts On Board
On Saturday, September 7, Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft landed successfully in New Mexico, marking the end of the Crew Flight Test (CFT), the first-ever astronaut mission of a Starliner [[3]]. However, unlike the original plan, no astronauts were on board the capsule during its return to Earth.
The journey began on Friday evening, September 6, when Starliner left the International Space Station (ISS) after a six-hour landing phase. The spacecraft re-entered Earth’s atmosphere at orbital speeds of about 27,400 km/h (17,025 mph) and deployed a series of parachutes to slow its descent. it inflated a set of airbags moments before touching down at White Sands Spaceport, a barren desert in New Mexico.
The Starliner capsule was originally intended to carry NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore back to Earth after a week-long stay at the ISS [[2]]. However, problems with the Reaction Control System (RCS) engines occurred shortly after the crew’s launch on June 5, and NASA decided not to risk the lives of the astronauts by putting them back on the Starliner. Instead, they will remain on the ISS for the rest of the year and return in February aboard SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft.
The empty seats and blue spacesuits on board the Starliner were a reminder of the mission’s original intention. Despite the successful landing, NASA’s Commercial Crew Program manager, Steve Stich, expressed mixed emotions, saying, “From a human perspective, we’re all happy about a successful landing, but there’s a part of us, all of us, that wishes it had gone the way we planned.” He acknowledged that ”there is clearly work to be done” and that it would take “a little bit of time” to determine what happened [[1]].
This was the first test flight of Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft with astronauts on board, and despite the manufacturer’s attempts to convince NASA of the vehicle’s safety, the agency preferred to return the astronauts via a SpaceX vehicle in February of next year.
The Starliner crew module will now be transported back to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, where Boeing teams will analyze mission data to identify areas for improvement [[3]]. The successful landing of the Starliner, albeit without astronauts on board, marks an important milestone in the development of this spacecraft. As NASA continues to work towards establishing a reliable and safe transportation system for its astronauts, the Starliner remains an essential part of this effort.
References:
What were the reasons for the decision to return Boeing’s Starliner to Earth without astronauts on board during the Crew Flight Test?
Starliner Completes Crew Flight Test, Returns to Earth Without Astronauts On Board
On Saturday, September 7, Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft successfully landed in New Mexico, marking the end of the Crew Flight Test (CFT), the first-ever astronaut mission of a Starliner [[3]]. However, unlike the original plan, no astronauts were on board the capsule during its return to Earth.
The journey began on Friday evening, September 6, when Starliner left the International Space Station (ISS) after a six-hour landing phase. The spacecraft re-entered Earth’s atmosphere at orbital speeds of about 27,400 km/h (17,025 mph) and deployed a series of parachutes to slow its descent. It inflated a set of airbags moments before touching down at White Sands Spaceport, a barren desert in New Mexico.
The Starliner capsule was originally intended to carry NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore back to Earth after a week-long stay at the ISS [[2]]. However, problems with the Reaction Control System (RCS) engines occurred shortly after the crew’s launch on June 5, and NASA decided not to risk the lives of the astronauts by putting them back on the Starliner. Instead, they will remain on the ISS for the rest of the year and return in February aboard SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft.
The empty seats and blue spacesuits on board the Starliner were a reminder of the mission’s original intention. Despite the successful landing, NASA’s Commercial Crew Program manager, Steve Stich, expressed mixed emotions, saying, “From
