On Friday night, after a nearly flawless flight, Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft, named Calypso, landed in the White Sands Desert in New Mexico.
The spacecraft undocked from the International Space Station (ISS) on Friday, Sept. 6, at 6:04 p.m. ET / 3:04 p.m. PT. It departed from the station, conducted a series of ignitions, and started its return journey, which lasted just under six hours.
The maneuvers went smoothly but not perfectly. After leaving the ISS, Boeing tested 12 thrusters in the capsule section. One of the thrusters didn’t work, but it wasn’t a problem, given that there are two redundant systems with six thrusters each. These are different thrusters from the ones on the service module that failed during the outbound flight, so Boeing will need to provide explanations for the issues.
Five hours later, after separating from the service module, Starliner made an atmospheric braking over the Pacific and the coast of Mexico. It opened its three parachutes and landed at its intended location: a U.S. Army missile range at White Sands, New Mexico.
This is the fourth time a spacecraft capable of carrying astronauts has landed at this site. The first time was in March 1982 when the space shuttle Columbia landed with two astronauts aboard to complete the STS-3 test flight. Four decades later, Boeing’s Starliner has landed here three times, all three unmanned:
- In December 2019, during its first unmanned test flight, Starliner had a software glitch that prevented it from reaching the ISS, prompting an early landing.
- In May 2022, during its second unmanned test flight, Starliner successfully reached its destination but encountered problems with the parachutes and faulty valves, leading to a delay in the manned test until June 2024.
- In September 2024, three months after its first manned launch with two astronauts aboard, Starliner returned empty once again. Five helium leaks and the failure of five thrusters during the spacecraft’s approach to the ISS led to the end of the test. NASA decided not to put the astronauts’ lives at risk, and they will return in a SpaceX Crew Dragon in February.
The Starliner spacecraft landed on Friday at 10:01 p.m. ET / 7:01 p.m. PT. No one needed to be rescued, but rescue teams have secured the spacecraft for transport back to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, where Boeing teams will analyze mission data. The capsule is designed for up to 10 flights and will be refurbished for another flight.
It’s currently unknown when Starliner will fly again because it hasn’t yet completed a manned test flight for NASA certification. The engineers don’t have access to the failed RCS system or the manifolds that leaked helium because the service module containing these systems was left in space to burn up in the atmosphere. Just like SpaceX’s Crew Dragon trunk, it wasn’t designed to survive atmospheric re-entry.
The successful return indicates that the Starliner spacecraft will fly again, despite helium leaks and problems with five maneuvering thrusters, one of which was never recovered. A thruster in the section where the astronauts would go also failed. Hopefully, Boeing will be able to complete three of the contracted six flights before the ISS’s retirement in 2030.
Image | NASA
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