Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft landed back on Earth early Saturday morning, but NASA will keep its two test pilots in space until next year because of concerns that a return journey would be too dangerous.
Starliner parachuted into the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico six hours after leaving the International Space Station, landing at 12:01 a.m. ET.
“I am extremely proud of the hard work our team put into this entire flight test and am pleased to see Starliner return safely,” Ken Bowersox, associate administrator for the Space Operations Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington, said in a statement.
“Despite having to return the spacecraft uncrewed, NASA and Boeing learned an incredible amount about Starliner in the harshest environment imaginable,” he added. “NASA looks forward to our continued collaboration with the Boeing team as we move forward toward certifying Starliner for crew-transfer missions to the space station.”
The Boeing Starliner detaches from the space station and returns to Earth unmanned, leaving only the crew behind.
The empty Boeing Starliner spacecraft landed at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico after detaching from the International Space Station. (Associated Press via NASA)
This comes after the June launch of Boeing’s long-delayed crewed spaceflight and a mission plagued by thruster failures and a helium leak, putting the return of Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams in doubt for months as engineers struggled to figure out what was wrong with the spacecraft.
Boeing claimed that after extensive testing, the Starliner would be able to safely bring the crew home, but NASA disagreed and instead asked SpaceX to return the crew to Earth. The SpaceX spacecraft won’t launch until the end of this month, meaning the crew will remain in space until February.
Wilmore and Williams were originally scheduled to return to Earth by mid-June, one week after the Starliner launch, but after encountering problems with thrusters and a loss of helium during the flight to the space station, NASA decided it was too risky to return aboard Starliner.
After receiving new software updates, the fully automated capsule departed with the crew’s blue spacesuits and some old space station equipment on board.
The Starliner crew demonstration ended a series of delays and setbacks for the spacecraft.
After the Space Shuttle was retired more than a decade ago, NASA tapped Boeing and SpaceX to provide an orbital taxi service. But Boeing faced so many problems during its first uncrewed test flights in 2019 that it was forced to try again. A retry three years later revealed even more problems, and it cost more than $1 billion to complete the necessary repairs.


Boeing’s unmanned Starliner spacecraft ignites its thrusters as it flies away from the International Space Station on Friday, September 6, 2024. (Associated Press via NASA)
SpaceX’s crew ferry flight later this month will be the company’s 10th for NASA since 2020. Because two seats are needed to return Wilmore and Williams, the Dragon capsule will launch with just the two astronauts for the six-month mission.
Helium was leaking from Starliner’s propulsion system even before the spacecraft’s early June launch from Cape Canaveral, Florida. The leak was small and thought to be isolated, but four more leaks were found after launch. Five thrusters subsequently failed, and although four of those were repaired, these issues left NASA concerned that further failures could cause problems during the capsule’s descent from orbit.
Boeing had conducted numerous thruster tests in space and on the ground over the summer and believed its spacecraft could return astronauts safely, but NASA was skeptical about the thruster problems and outsourced the return mission to SpaceX.
Flight controllers conducted several test firings of the capsule’s thrusters after undocking, but one failed to ignite. Engineers believe the thrusters got hotter the more they fired, causing protective seals to expand and restrict the flow of propellant. The parts that hold the thrusters in place were ejected just before re-entry, so the parts can’t be inspected.
NASA astronauts say Starliner crew may change exercise routines during extended stay at ISS


Boeing’s unmanned Starliner spacecraft undocks during its departure from the International Space Station on Friday, September 6, 2024. (Associated Press via NASA)
Starliner is scheduled to return to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.
“I want to commend the Starliner team for their hard work in successfully completing the safe undock, deorbit, reentry and landing,” Mark Nappi, vice president and program manager for Boeing’s Commercial Crew Programs, said in a statement. “We will review the data and determine next steps for the program.”
Steve Stich, NASA’s commercial crew program manager, said earlier this week that the space agency still wants to have two U.S. companies compete to transport astronauts into space. NASA expects SpaceX and Boeing to take turns launching crews until the space station is abandoned before it burns up and re-enters space in 2030.
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“We are pleased to have seen Starliner return safely. This was an important test flight for NASA in preparation for future missions with the Starliner system,” Steve Stich, NASA’s commercial crew program manager, said in a statement after Starliner returned to Earth. “We learned a lot of valuable lessons that will enable our long-term success, and I want to commend the entire team for their hard work and dedication over the past three months.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.