Produced by: Tarun Mishra Designed by: Manoj Kumar
Boeing's Starliner spacecraft concluded its long-delayed Crew Flight Test (CFT) with a successful uncrewed landing at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico, on September 7, marking the end of a mission that lasted over three months.
NASA officials confirmed that despite Starliner’s technical issues during its approach to the International Space Station (ISS), the spacecraft's landing would have been safe for astronauts. The mission’s return sequence was executed as planned, which reassured NASA about crew safety if astronauts had been on board.
The thruster problems Starliner faced as it neared the ISS caused a delay of nearly three months. Originally planned for a 10-day mission, NASA reassigned the two astronauts, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, to future missions after deciding to bring Starliner back without a crew.
Steve Stich, manager of NASA's Commercial Crew Program, stated that if a predictive model had been available earlier, the decision to fly the spacecraft crewed may have been different. However, safety concerns based on the available data led to the decision to conduct an uncrewed return.
The CFT was initially intended to be the final qualifying mission for Starliner before it started regular crew transport missions to the ISS. The mission launched on June 4 with expectations of a short stay in orbit, but issues led to its extension until September.
Wilmore and Williams, who were originally part of the CFT mission, have been reassigned to the upcoming ISS Expedition 71. They will now return to Earth aboard SpaceX’s Crew-9 mission in early 2025, spending nearly ten months on the ISS instead of the planned ten days.
Boeing’s Starliner was expected to begin six-month crew rotation missions in early 2025, but this has now been postponed to August 2025 at the earliest. Boeing and NASA are analysing data from the recent mission to address the spacecraft's technical challenges.
Following the uncrewed landing, Boeing’s Commercial Crew Program will continue to assess the mission data. Boeing's vice president, Mark Nappi, emphasized the importance of ensuring safe operations and a thorough review of the spacecraft's performance to determine the next phase of the program.