Two NASA astronauts will stay aboard the International Space Station as the troubled vehicle they rode undocks ahead of a landing in the New Mexico desert.
Boeing’s Starliner is finally coming home, but the two NASA astronauts who traveled in the spacecraft to the International Space Station are not.
The mission, which launched in June, was the first time Starliner carried people to orbit. The flight was intended as a final shakedown before NASA certified the spacecraft for once-a-year missions taking astronauts to and from the space station.
The vehicle’s propulsion system experienced problems during its approach to the space station, including several balky thrusters and leaks of helium, a gas used to push propellant in the weightlessness of orbit. Although Starliner was able to dock successfully, the cause of the problems is still not fully understood, and NASA officials decided it would be safer for Starliner to return without anyone aboard.
When will Starliner return, and how can I watch it?
Starliner is scheduled to undock from the space station at 6:04 p.m. Eastern time Friday. NASA will begin broadcasting coverage at 5:45 p.m.
Coverage of the re-entry and landing of Starliner is scheduled to begin at 10:50 p.m.
What will happen during the undocking and landing?
A command sent from the ground will retract the hooks that are holding Starliner to the outpost’s forward docking port, and springs will push the spacecraft away. A minute and a half later, the spacecraft will fire its thrusters in short bursts to move away and above the space station.
At the higher altitude, it will be moving more slowly than the space station and the distance between them will grow quickly.