After facing many safety concerns, Boeing’s new astronaut capsule is scheduled to leave the International Space Station (ISS) this Friday without its astronauts on board.
NASA’s two test pilots will remain at the space station, making it their home until next year. Meanwhile, the Starliner capsule will prepare to undock and aims to land in the New Mexico desert about six hours later.
Originally, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams were supposed to fly the Starliner back to Earth in June, just a week after their launch. However, issues like thruster failures and helium leaks complicated their journey to the ISS.
In light of these challenges, NASA decided it was too risky to use the Starliner for their return. Instead, the capsule will travel back to Earth with only its empty seats and blue spacesuits, along with some used equipment from the station. SpaceX is expected to bring Wilmore and Williams back in late February, extending their mission from an original eight days to over eight months.
Boeing’s first astronaut flight marks the end of a long road filled with delays and difficulties. Since the retirement of the space shuttles more than ten years ago, NASA enlisted both Boeing and SpaceX to provide transportation to and from orbit. However, Boeing’s initial test flight in 2019, which had no one on board, faced so many issues that the company had to redo it. Even the follow-up test in 2022 revealed more problems, with repairs costing over $1 billion.
In contrast, SpaceX is preparing for its crew flight later this month, which will be its 10th mission for NASA since 2020. The Dragon capsule will launch on a six-month mission with only two astronauts, as the other two seats are reserved for Wilmore and Williams for their return trip.
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