Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft returned to the earth and landed in New Mexico, Eastern time, just after midnight, endeavouring a significant but difficult test flight for Boeing as well as NASA. The Crew Dragon was taking part in the SpaceX Demo-2 mission, being a part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, and the problems related to the spacecraft’s thrusters had been one of the main concerns. When making its successful ISS approach last month, some of the Starliner’s thrusters failed, and this has triggered questions about the craft’s suitability for a safe return to Earth.
As it was originally planned, the Starliner was to begin taking astronauts back, but here it is agreed that it will come back empty, empty with cargo, that is. That is why NASA chiefs opted to retain space travellers Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams on the ISS and launch the spacecraft without a crew on board. ‘It was a difficult call to make, but in the end, safety had to come first.’ The director and program manager for NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, Steve Stich, was charged. He agreed with the difficulty of coming to a decision as to whether to carry on the mission with/without the crew.
It had blasted off on June 5 with Wilmore and Williams on board, and the test flight was originally planned to last for approximately eight days. However, the mission was extended as engineers tried and assessed the thruster problems that were experienced during the approach to the ISS. The problem with the thrusters was suspicious, which in turn raised the concern, and the spacecraft was brought back without the astronauts on board.
Wilmore and Williams will now remain aboard the ISS until February 2024, and they will blast home on a SpaceX rocket. NASA’s ISS program manager, Dana Weigel, said that the astronauts are well equipped for their long-duration stay as they have undergone long-duration space station training in preparation for such circumstances. The successful return of Starliner will give NASA and Boeing useful data on the spacecraft to plan for crewed flight in the future.
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