Why are astronauts stuck in space? Starliner lands safely – without its crew

Boeing’s troubled Starliner space capsule left the International Space Station without its crew and autonomously returned to Earth on Saturday, landing safely in New Mexico just after midnight Eastern time. 

The capsule undocked from the space station at 6:04 p.m. ET Friday. After a six-hour flight, it landed using parachutes and airbags at the White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico.

Flight controllers at Starliner Mission Control in Houston and at Boeing Mission Control Center in Florida guided the capsule to Earth. Its thrusters, some of which had malfunctioned earlier, performed without difficulty.

Starliner’s two astronauts, Sunita “Suni” Williams and Barry “Butch” Wilmore, will stay aboard the space station until February. They'll come home aboard a SpaceX Dragon capsule.

A look at Boeing's Starliner capsule

After landing, the Starliner capsule will be taken back to the Boeing facility at the Kennedy Space Center on Merritt Island, Florida.

Where did the Starliner capsule land?

Starliner had been expected to land with Williams and Wilmore aboard. But helium leaks caused the craft's thrusters to malfunction. Starliner docked safely at the space station, but NASA later decided its thrusters were unsafe for the flight home.

Though Williams and Wilmore will be on the space station for eight months instead of the planned eight days, NASA says, the two aren't "stuck" or "stranded." The space station has room and supplies to accommodate them.

Starliner used parachutes, airbags to land

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The two astronauts will continue working as members of the Expedition 71/72 crew through February 2025, NASA says. They'll return on the SpaceX Crew-9 capsule, scheduled for liftoff Sept. 24.

Starliner has already completed two uncrewed flights. Capsules have landed as planned in December 2019 and in May 2022. The first capsule did not reach orbit and was unable to dock at the space station in 2019. The second capsule arrived at the space station in Boeing's attempt in 2022.

Contributing: Max Hauptman

Source: Paste BN Network reporting and research; Reuters; NASA; space.com