NASA and Boeing safely returned the unmanned Starliner spacecraft after landing at White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico at 10:01 p.m. MDT on September 6, completing a three-month flight test to the International Space Station.
“I am extremely proud of the work our entire team put into this entire flight test, and we are pleased with Starliner’s safe return,” said Ken Bowersox, associate administrator of the Space Operations Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “Even though it was necessary to return the spacecraft uncrewed, NASA and Boeing learned an incredible amount about Starliner in the most extreme environment possible. NASA looks forward to our continued collaboration with the Boeing team to advance Starliner’s certification for crew rotation missions to the space station.”
The June 5 flight marked the first launch of astronauts aboard Starliner. It was the spacecraft’s third orbital flight and its second return from the orbiting laboratory. Starliner will now be transported to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida for inspection and processing.
NASA’s Commercial Crew Program requires a spacecraft to complete a crewed test flight to prove the system is ready for regular flights to and from the orbiting laboratory. After the Starliner returns, the agency will review all mission-related data.
“We are pleased that Starliner has returned home safely. This was an important test flight for NASA to prepare for future missions in the Starliner system,” said Steve Stich, manager of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. “We gained a lot of valuable knowledge that will enable our long-term success. I want to thank the entire team for their hard work and dedication over the past three months.”
NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams launched aboard Starliner on June 5 for the agency’s Boeing crewed flight test from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. As Starliner approached the space station on June 6, NASA and Boeing discovered helium leaks and experienced problems with the spacecraft’s reaction control thrusters. After weeks of in-space and ground testing, technical exchange meetings, and agency reviews, NASA made the decision to prioritize safety and return Starliner without its crew. Wilmore and Williams will continue their work aboard the station as part of the Expedition 71/72 crew and return in February 2025 on the agency’s SpaceX Crew-9 mission.
The crewed flight test is part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. The goal of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program is to provide safe, reliable and cost-effective transportation to and from the International Space Station and low Earth orbit. This has already provided additional research time and increased opportunities for discoveries aboard humanity’s microgravity proving ground, including helping NASA prepare for human exploration of the Moon and Mars.
For more information about NASA’s Commercial Crew program, visit:
https://www.nasa.gov/commercialcrew
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Joshua Finch / Jimi Russell
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1100
[email protected] / [email protected]
Leah Cheshier
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
[email protected]
Steve Siceloff / Danielle Sempsrott / Stephanie Plucinsky
Kennedy Space Center, Florida
321-867-2468
[email protected] / [email protected] / [email protected]
