• NASA and Boeing welcomed Starliner back to Earth late on Friday evening.
• The spacecraft has exhibited helium leaks and thruster problems since before it arrived at the International Space Station.
• Starliner will now be shipped back to Florida for inspection and processing.

NASA and Boeing welcomed the return of the Starliner spacecraft back to Earth on Friday evening after it experienced troubles at the International Space Station (ISS).

After trying to troubleshoot the issues the spacecraft experienced for months, Boeing and NASA decided to send the Starliner back to Earth without astronauts Butch Willmore and Suni Williams who will return to Earth in 2025.

“I am extremely proud of the work our collective team put into this entire flight test, and we are pleased to see Starliner’s safe return,” Ken Bowersox, associate administrator of the Space Operations Mission Directorate at NASA’s Headquarters in Washington said in a statement.

“Even though it was necessary to return the spacecraft uncrewed, NASA and Boeing learned an incredible amount about Starliner in the most extreme environment possible. NASA looks forward to our continued work with the Boeing team to proceed toward certification of Starliner for crew rotation missions to the space station,” the associate administrator said.

Starliner exhibited several problems both on the way to the International Space Station and while docked at the laboratory. Both NASA and Boeing detected Helium leaks and problems with Starliner’s thrusters. Ultimately, the safe return of the vessel and crew was made a high priority and so, Starliner returned to Earth on Friday evening.

“We are excited to have Starliner home safely. This was an important test flight for NASA in setting us up for future missions on the Starliner system,” said Steve Stich, manager of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. “There was a lot of valuable learning that will enable our long-term success. I want to commend the entire team for their hard work and dedication over the past three months.”

Both Willmore and Williams will return in early 2025 as part of the SpaceX Crew-9 mission. Until then, the astronauts will continue working aboard the orbital laboratory.

As for Starliner it will be shipped back to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center for inspection and processing.

We’re sure the ISS is glad to be rid of the Starliner. Just last week strange noises were heard coming from the vessel’s speakers. NASA explained that the noise was a result of radio interference but it was just another reason to be worried about the spacecraft.

[Image – NASA]