Boeing will fly its empty capsule back to Earth soon. Two NASA astronauts will stay behind

https://apnews.com/article/boeing-stuck-astronauts-nasa-space-b9707f81937952992efdca5bb7b0da55

7 Comments

  1. Boeing will attempt to return its problem-plagued capsule from the International Space Station later this week — with empty seats.

    NASA said Wednesday that everything is on track for the Starliner capsule to undock from the space station Friday evening. The fully automated capsule will aim for a touchdown in New Mexico’s White Sands Missile Range six hours later.

  2. Boeing encountered serious flaws with Starliner long before its June 5 liftoff on the long-delayed astronaut demo.

    Starliner’s first test flight went so poorly in 2019 — the capsule never reached the space station because of software errors — that the mission was repeated three years later. More problems surfaced, resulting in even more delays and more than $1 billion in repairs.

  3. Their blue Boeing spacesuits will return with the capsule, along with some old station equipment.

    NASA hired Boeing and SpaceX a decade ago to ferry its astronauts to and from the space station after its shuttles retired. SpaceX accomplished the feat in 2020 and has since launched nine crews for NASA and four for private customers.

  4. nice-view-from-here on

    There will be mixed feelings about the final outcome if it lands safely after all, and also if it doesn’t land safely.

  5. The goblin in the deepest parts of my cerebellum wish to see the capsule hit the atmosphere and break like a liquid-nitrogen-cooled eggshell