Starliner: The spaceship allowed to Earth, without its crew

Completing a three-month test flight aboard the International Space Station, NASA and Boeing have returned the Starliner spacecraft safely to Earth — but without its crew, NASA astronauts Butch Willmore and Sonny Williams.

The uncrewed @BoeingSpace #Starliner spacecraft landed at New Mexico’s White Sands Space Harbor at 12:01am ET on Saturday Sept. 7. pic.twitter.com/qi0kWhiSHj

— NASA’s Johnson Space Center (@NASA_Johnson) September 7, 2024

The Starliner undocked from the ISS late Friday night and after a 6-hour journey, landed at the White Sands Spaceport in New Mexico.

NASA and Boeing welcomed #Starliner back to Earth at 12:01am ET (0401 UTC) on Saturday, Sept. 7, following the uncrewed spacecraft’s landing in New Mexico—concluding its flight test to the @Space_Station: https://t.co/rOrGmEZtgP pic.twitter.com/LUqnGfuDME

— NASA (@NASA) September 7, 2024

The capsule, which experienced technical problems after launch, was deemed too dangerous to carry the crew back to Earth.

#Starliner landed today at White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico at 12:01 am ET on Sept. 7 (10:01 p.m. MT on Sept. 6). Teams on the ground welcomed the spacecraft and are now preparing to transport Starliner back to Florida for analysis and refurbishment.

More:… pic.twitter.com/UEPdkuXswZ

— Boeing Space (@BoeingSpace) September 7, 2024

Their eight-day mission will eventually last at least eight months, as the astronauts will return in a SpaceX vehicle no earlier than February 2025.

This is another blow to the prestige of Boeing, which already faces repeated failures in its aircraft.

According to the Daily Mail, Wilmore raised concerns about a “strange” noise last Saturday at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, just days before the capsule began its unmanned return trip to Earth.