Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft has accomplished its Crew Flight Test (CFT) mission, touchdown safely at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico, on September 7, 2024. After greater than three months in house, the uncrewed capsule returned with a profitable parachute-assisted touchdown at 12:01 a.m. EDT (0401 GMT). This marked the tip of a mission initially deliberate for simply ten days, however delays arose attributable to thruster points skilled because the capsule neared the International Space Station (ISS). Although no astronauts had been on board, NASA confirmed that they’d have been unhurt if they’d been.
Safe Landing Despite Challenges
NASA’s Steve Stich, supervisor of the Commercial Crew Program, defined throughout a press convention that Starliner’s descent adopted the deliberate process. The spacecraft carried out its deorbit burn, re-entry, and touchdown as designed. According to Stich, even with crew aboard, the touchdown would have been equally protected, regardless of the surprising issues through the mission. Boeing and NASA have spent the previous three months at White Sands performing assessments to grasp the thruster malfunction, which delayed Starliner’s return.
Astronaut Reassignment and Starliner’s Future
NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, initially a part of the mission, needed to be reassigned. They had been initially scheduled to return after ten days however will now keep on the ISS for ten months. Wilmore and Williams will return to Earth on SpaceX’s Crew Dragon in February 2025, after Crew-9’s rotation.
The way forward for Starliner’s operations stays unsure, with plans for its crew transport missions to the ISS now delayed till not less than August 2025. Boeing’s Commercial Crew Program vice chairman, Mark Nappi, confirmed that the information from this mission will likely be reviewed to resolve the subsequent steps for the spacecraft.
