Tag: Starliner
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SpaceX launches mission to bring Starliner astronauts back to Earth
NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov lifted off Saturday from Florida’s Space Coast aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft, heading for a five-month expedition on the International Space Station. The two-man crew launched on top of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket at 1:17 pm EDT (17:17 UTC), taking advantage of a break in the…
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Navy captains don’t like abandoning ship—but with Starliner, the ship left them
NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams are no strangers to time away from their families. Both are retired captains in the US Navy, served in war zones, and are veterans of previous six-month stays on the International Space Station. When they launched to the space station on Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft on June 5, the…
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The future of Boeing’s crewed spaceflight program is muddy after Starliner’s return
Nearly a decade ago to the day, I stood in the international terminal of Houston’s main airport checking my phone. As I waited to board a flight for Moscow, an announcement from NASA was imminent, with the agency due to make its selections for private companies that would transport astronauts to the International Space Station.…
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NASA wants Starliner to make a quick getaway from the space station
Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft will gently back away from the International Space Station Friday evening, then fire its balky thrusters to rapidly depart the vicinity of the orbiting lab and its nine-person crew. NASA asked Boeing to adjust Starliner’s departure sequence to get away from the space station faster and reduce the workload on the thrusters…
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Leaving behind its crew, Starliner departs space station and returns to Earth
Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft sailed to a smooth landing in the New Mexico desert Friday night, an auspicious end to an otherwise disappointing three-month test flight that left the capsule’s two-person crew stuck in orbit until next year. Cushioned by airbags, the Boeing crew capsule descended under three parachutes toward an on-target landing at 10:01 pm…
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Starliner lands safely in New Mexico
Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft rests in the desert of the White Sands Space Harbor following its return to Earth from the International Space Station. Image: Boeing Leaving its crew behind in orbit, Boeing’s troubled Starliner spacecraft undocked from the International Space Station Friday and chalked up a successful unpiloted return to Earth, closing out a disappointing…
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Starliner Calypso has undocked and returned to Earth without CFT crew
The Boeing Starliner Calypso, which launched to the International Space Station on June 5 with two experienced astronauts on board, is about to undock from ISS after three months on orbit — but with those fliers staying behind on the Station for the next six months while the Crew Flight Test (CFT) mission ends without…
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As it happened: Boeing’s Starliner returned to Earth, marking the end of the Crew Flight Test mission
The summer-long saga of the Boeing Starliner Crew Flight Test is set to come to an end on Friday. Landing at the White Sands Space Harbor shortly after midnight on Saturday. Starliner will make its final journey without crew onboard. NASA astronauts Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Sunita “Suni” Williams will remain onboard the International Space…
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After another Boeing letdown, NASA isn’t ready to buy more Starliner missions
NASA is ready for Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft, stricken with thruster problems and helium leaks, to leave the International Space Station as soon as Friday, wrapping up a disappointing test flight that has clouded the long-term future of the Starliner program. Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, who launched aboard Starliner on June 5, closed the…
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Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft wraps up its crewless journey home from space station
Boeing’s Starliner space capsule sits in the New Mexico desert after touchdown. (Boeing Photo) It wasn’t perfect, but the propulsion system that NASA worried about did its job today as Boeing’s Starliner space capsule made an uncrewed descent from the International Space Station back down to Earth. The gumdrop-shaped spacecraft, christened Calypso, floated down to…