The spacecraft detached from the ISS on Friday before landing on Saturday, without the two astronauts it had carried on the outward journey.
The end of an aerospace saga. Boeing’s Starliner capsule returned to Earth on Saturday, September 7 without the astronauts who had taken it to the International Space Station (ISS), NASA having judged that the risk was too great, according to images released by them.
The capsule, which had left the ISS about six hours earlier, landed gently at the White Sands space station in New Mexico at around 0401 GMT, its descent slowed by parachutes and cushioned by airbags.
Ground crews reported hearing booms as the craft hurtled through the 3,000-degree Fahrenheit night sky at supersonic speeds during re-entry.
Two astronauts held on the ISS
The reputation of the American aeronautics giant – already dented by numerous recent problems with its airliners – took a further hit in June when thruster failures and helium leaks on the capsule were detected during the inaugural manned flight.
Despite the manufacturer’s attempts to convince NASA of the safety of its device, the space agency preferred to bring Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams back via Boeing’s competitor, SpaceX, and its Crew Dragon capsule.
The two astronauts, who will not return until next year, will remain in space for more than eight months, whereas they were initially supposed to carry out a mission of… eight days.
NASA’s commercial human spaceflight program manager Steve Stich told reporters this week that despite Boeing’s confidence in its projections, the space agency “was not comfortable” proceeding with Starliner “because of the uncertainty around the model.”
This smooth return flight should help the American manufacturer to reassure and obtain new approvals for manned flights.
“Better understanding”
During the return flight, ground crews monitored Starliner’s performance in all aspects, particularly its thrusters – which had experienced problems.
Once Starliner’s return is confirmed, “we’ll have a better understanding of when we can certify the aircraft and when we can resume flights,” Stich said.
Ten years ago, NASA ordered a new ship from Boeing and SpaceX each to transport its astronauts to the ISS. With two vehicles, it wants to not be left without a solution in the event of a problem on one or the other.
But Elon Musk’s company has largely beaten Boeing and has been acting alone as the American space taxi for four years now.
This first crewed flight of Starliner, carried out years late due to setbacks during its development, was to be the last test before the launch of regular operations.
François Blanchard with AFP
