"Are You a CEO, Director, or Founder interested in a Feature Interview?"
All Interviews are 100% FREE of Charge
Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft has returned to Earth unmanned after a three-month test flight to the International Space Station (ISS). NASA on Saturday.
The spacecraft landed safely at White Sands Spaceport in New Mexico on September 6.
Starliner launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on June 5 with NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams on board for a short, eight-day mission dubbed “Crew Flight Test.”
The mission was Starliner’s final test flight, with astronauts checking its operational capabilities and “validating the transportation system.”
However, Starliner ran into problems even before it reached the ISS, with NASA and Boeing identifying a helium leak and thruster malfunctions as it approached the space station.
“After weeks of space and ground testing, technical exchange meetings, and interagency reviews, NASA has made the decision to prioritize safety and return Starliner without a crew member,” NASA said in a statement. “Wilmore and Williams will continue their work aboard the space station as part of the Expedition 71/72 crew and are scheduled to return aboard NASA’s SpaceX Crew 9 mission in February 2025.”
Having completed the main task, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Wilmore and Williams said they are currently working to support other ISS crew members with maintenance tasks, science experiments and research on the space station.
“Recently completed scientific research includes new methods for producing fiber optic cables and growing plants within the orbital complex,” NASA said.
He added that the space station was “fully stocked with all the supplies the crew would need, including food, water, clothing and oxygen,” and that Wilmore and Williams “understood the possibilities and unknowns of the mission, including staying aboard the space station for longer than planned.”
Ken Bowersox, associate administrator for the Space Operations Mission Directorate, said of Starliner’s return, “Despite the need to return the spacecraft uncrewed, NASA and Boeing learned an incredible amount about Starliner in the harshest environment imaginable.”