NASA is targeting Friday , September 6 , for the tax return flight of Boeing Space ’s distract Starliner spacecraft , the representation let out on Thursday .
The fomite will come home from the International Space Station ( ISS ) nearly three months later than originally plan and without the crew that it go far with . The flight , the consequence of which could influence the Starliner ’s hereafter , is expected to take about six time of day , NASAsaid in a web log poston Thursday .
“ After undocking [ at 6:04 p.m. ET ] , the Starliner will take about six hours to reach the landing place zona at White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico , ” NASA said in the post . “ The spacecraft will touch down about 12:03 a.m. on Saturday , September 7 , go down under parachutes and with hyperbolic airbags to buffer the shock . ”
The Starliner has been docked at the ISS since early June after discharge its first - ever crewed flight of steps , with NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore take aim the ride .
But as it approached the ISS on June 6 , issues emerge with some of the space vehicle ’s thruster . Several helium leak were also find .
The pusher are cardinal in guiding the Starliner toward its reentry point into Earth ’s air for the trip home , and so NASA paused the return ocean trip to give it time to get word more about the issue and to confirm if it was dependable to put Williams and Wilmore inside the capsule for the retort journeying .
After much research and deliberation , NASA announce last workweek that out of an abundance of forethought , the two astronauts would or else wing homeon a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraftin February 2025 , with the Starliner returning empty .
And now we have a fair game day of the month for what ’s prepare to be a essential flight for Boeing ’s space vehicle .
In Thursday ’s web log berth , NASA said that all being well , the uncrewed Starliner spacecraft will perform a in full autonomous payoff overseen by flight restrainer at Starliner Mission Control in Houston and at Boeing Mission Control Center in Florida .
It add together that if the Starliner fail to perform as expected , squad on the ground will be able-bodied to remotely require the spacecraft through the necessary manoeuvre for a good undocking , reentry , and parachute - assist landing place .
But clearly , it ’s not so positive that it ’s willing to put Williams and Wilmore aboard the spacecraft for the journeying home .
The current mission is the Starliner ’s third flight to date . The first one in December 2019 ended in unsuccessful person when the fomite was unable to reach the ISS , though it returned safely . Its second tryout flight , in 2022 , supervise to successfully dock with the ISS and also rejoin home .
