The capsule is back on Earth after 3 months. An engine problem meant that the crew could not fly.
The Starliner is in orbit after a surprisingly long time after 3 months finally landed safely on earth. Although the spacecraft was designed to transport astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) and back, the astronauts were not allowed to come along. The reason for this was that problems with the engines had been known for a long time.
One just after midnight Eastern Time The Starliner landed on September 7th White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico. The first manned test flight has now ended.
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Landing in the American desert
The re-entry into the atmosphere went as planned, then the spacecraft landed, carried by parachutes and upholstered by Air cushionin the desert of New Mexico. However, the return flight didn’t go completely smoothly, as there were minor problems with the engines.
“I am extremely proud of the work of our entire team on this flight test and am pleased with the Starliner’s safe return,” said Ken Bowersox, deputy director of NASA’s Space Operations Mission Directorate.
NASA sees no failure
NASA emphasizes that it does not see the Starliner test flight as a failure despite leaving the astronauts behind on the space station. The Astronauts should now stay on the ISS and in the February Return to Earth in a SpaceX Dragon in 2025.
“We are pleased that the Starliner has returned home safely. “It was an important test flight for NASA to prepare us for future missions with the Starliner system,” said Steve StichNASA Commercial Crew Program Manager. “There were many valuable insights that will enable our long-term success. I would like to thank the entire team for their hard work and dedication over the last 3 months.”
Engine problems
The “Crisis capsuleThe spacecraft, christened, launched on June 5 with two NASA astronauts, Butch Wilmore and Sunny Williamson board the ISS. However, there were several problems with the control engines during docking.
Actually only one was planned 8 day mission. However, due to a more detailed inspection of the engines to look for the fault, the stay on the ISS lasted much longer than planned. NASA then decided to leave the two astronauts on the space station and return the Starliner to Earth unmanned.
