Made By Astronauts For Astronauts, Boeing Starliner To Return Without Them
NDTV
The return journey, in autonomous mode, is slated for September 6 and the Starliner is expected to land about six hours after it undocks.
The Boeing Starliner on which Indian-origin NASA astronaut Sunita Williams flew to the International Space Station (ISS) on June 5 was touted as a space capsule made by astronauts for astronauts but, much to the embarrassment of Boeing, is now set to return without any human spacefarers. The return journey, in autonomous mode, is slated for September 6 and the Starliner is expected to land about six hours after it undocks.
The Starliner, whose development was plagued by delays, was on its first crewed test flight, carrying Sunita Williams and Barry "Butch" Wilmore for what was meant to be an eight-day mission. The two astronauts have been at the International Space Station since June 6 and their stay kept getting extended because of propulsion issues on the Starliner. NASA announced on August 24 that the astronauts would return to Earth in February 2025 and the Boeing spacecraft would come back without its crew.
The uncrewed return allows NASA and Boeing to continue gathering testing data on the Starliner during its flight home while also allowing it not to accept more risk than is necessary for its crew. NASA officials said the decision was "unanimous" on its part, while Boeing asserted it could return the Starliner both with or without crew.
