NASA has announced that the Boeing Starliner spacecraft will embark on its uncrewed journey back to Earth no earlier than September 6, pending favorable weather and technical readiness. The spacecraft is slated to undock from the International Space Station (ISS) at 18:04 EDT (1:04 Moscow time on September 7) and will aim to make a parachute-assisted landing in White Sands, New Mexico, approximately six hours later.

Image source: NASA

The Starliner, which previously transported NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams to the ISS on June 6, was on its maiden crewed test flight. Although initially intended for an 8-day mission, the spacecraft encountered issues including helium leaks and malfunctions in five of its 28 maneuvering engines.

Due to these technical problems and subsequent delays, NASA decided it was too risky to return the astronauts on the Starliner. Consequently, it was announced on August 24 that the astronauts would return to Earth aboard a SpaceX Dragon capsule in February next year. The Starliner will make its return to Earth without a crew.

NASA’s mission control teams will oversee the Starliner’s fully autonomous re-entry. The spacecraft will be managed remotely from both the Starliner Mission Control Center in Houston and Boeing’s Mission Control Center in Florida. This marks the spacecraft’s third autonomous return, following previous successful unmanned test flights in December 2019 and May 2022.

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