Boeing Starliner returning without Sunita Williams and Barry Wilmore: How to watch live undocking and landing | Technology News
Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft is all set to return to Earth today. The mission which was a test flight with astronauts Sunita Williams and Barry Wilmore, was launched on June 5 from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Initially planned as an eight-day mission, their stay was indefinitely extended due to helium leaks and thruster failures on the spacecraft.
The Starliner mission was critical for Boeing as it was aimed at showcasing the capabilities of its commercial space capsule in sending crews to the International Space Station (ISS). However, in a big blow for Boeing, NASA announced on August 25 that the astronauts will return to Earth on Elon Musk’s SpaceX Crew Dragon in early February 2025.
Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft will autonomously depart from the ISS and land at White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico on Friday, September 6, at approximately 6:04 a.m. EDT (September 7, 3:30 a.m. IST), depending on weather conditions. You can watch the live departure of Starliner from the ISS via the NASA YouTube video below:
After issues with helium and the spacecraft’s reaction control thrusters persisted, NASA and Boeing decided on a crewless return of Starliner for safety reasons. Meanwhile, Williams and Wilmore will remain aboard the ISS and return to Earth in February 2025 on SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft as part of Nasa’s SpaceX Crew-9 mission.
You can watch Boeing’s uncrewed Starliner live as it leaves low Earth orbit, re-enters the atmosphere, and touches down in New Mexico via the stream below. Starliner is scheduled to begin its deorbit burn at 11:17 p.m. EDT on Friday (8:47 a.m. IST on Saturday), with landing planned for 12:03 a.m. EDT (9:33 a.m. IST) on the same day.
On September 4, Nasa held a press conference on Boeing’s crew flight test pre-departure, focusing on the return of the Starliner spacecraft and its implications for the mission and the ISS. The team discussed key aspects, including the return of cargo such as reusable oxygen tanks, and potential risks to the ISS and ground safety during Starliner’s re-entry. However, NASA and Boeing engineers reassured that the spacecraft’s thrusters were extensively tested, with 27 out of 28 thrusters functioning properly.
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