Touchdown: Boeing Starliner returns to Earth after test flight to International Space Station
ByMichelle Ewing, Cox Media Group National Content Desk
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Boeing Starliner returns to Earth after test flight to International Space Station The landing came Wednesday evening, about four hours after the capsule departed from the ISS with no people – just a dummy – on board. (NCD)
ByMichelle Ewing, Cox Media Group National Content Desk
WHITE SANDS MISSILE RANGE, N.M. — Boeing’s Starliner capsule touched down in the New Mexico desert Wednesday, less than a week after it lifted off from Florida’s Cape Canaveral last Thursday for an uncrewed test flight to the International Space Station, officials said.
According to The Associated Press, the landing came shortly before 7 p.m. EDT, about four hours after the capsule departed from the orbiting laboratory with no people – just a dummy – on board. With the exception of some issues with thrusters and the cooling system, the demo went “extremely” well and met all of its objectives, NASA Commercial Crew Director Steve Stich said.
“Touchdown, #Starliner. At 6:49pm ET (22:49 UTC), @BoeingSpace’s spacecraft landed at White Sands Space Harbor, New Mexico,” NASA tweeted alongside a video of the moment. “Today’s return from the @Space_Station marks the end of Orbital Flight Test-2, a demo providing data to help certify it to carry astronauts.”
Touchdown, #Starliner. At 6:49pm ET (22:49 UTC), @BoeingSpace's spacecraft landed at White Sands Space Harbor, New Mexico. Today's return from the @Space_Station marks the end of Orbital Flight Test-2, a demo providing data to help certify it to carry astronauts. pic.twitter.com/FPdo9F8XEJ
In a statement, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson called the teamwork between the agency and Boeing “a major and successful step” toward conducting more flights to the ISS “on American spacecraft from American soil.”
“The OFT-2 mission represents the power of collaboration, which allows us to innovate for the benefit of humanity and inspire the world through discovery,” the statement read. “This golden era of spaceflight wouldn’t be possible without the thousands of individuals who persevered and poured their passion into this great achievement.”
The flight came more than two years after software errors thwarted the capsule’s first test flight in December 2019, the AP previously reported. Corroded valves stopped a second launch attempt last summer, according to the news agency.
Photos: Boeing Starliner capsule returns to Earth from International Space Station Boeing's CST-100 Starliner spacecraft lands at White Sands Missile Range's Space Harbor, Wednesday, May 25, 2022, in New Mexico. (Bill Ingalls/NASA via AP)
Photos: Boeing Starliner capsule returns to Earth from International Space Station Boeing's CST-100 Starliner spacecraft lands at White Sands Missile Range's Space Harbor, Wednesday, May 25, 2022, in New Mexico. (Bill Ingalls/NASA via AP)
Photos: Boeing Starliner capsule returns to Earth from International Space Station Boeing and NASA teams work around Boeing's CST-100 Starliner spacecraft after it landed at White Sands Missile Range's Space Harbor, Wednesday, May 25, 2022, in New Mexico. (Bill Ingalls/NASA via AP)
Photos: Boeing Starliner capsule returns to Earth from International Space Station Boeing and NASA teams work around Boeing's CST-100 Starliner spacecraft after it landed at White Sands Missile Range's Space Harbor, Wednesday, May 25, 2022, in New Mexico. (Bill Ingalls/NASA via AP)
Photos: Boeing Starliner capsule returns to Earth from International Space Station Boeing and NASA teams work around Boeing's CST-100 Starliner spacecraft after it landed at White Sands Missile Range's Space Harbor, Wednesday, May 25, 2022, in New Mexico. (Bill Ingalls/NASA via AP)
Photos: Boeing Starliner capsule returns to Earth from International Space Station The Boeing CST-100 Starliner spacecraft jettisons the heat shield as it lands at White Sands Missile Range's Space Harbor, Wednesday, May 25, 2022, in New Mexico. (Bill Ingalls/NASA via AP)
Photos: Boeing Starliner capsule returns to Earth from International Space Station In this infrared image from video made available by NASA, the Boeing Starliner capsule uses parachutes as it descends to land at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico on Wednesday, May 25, 2022. (NASA via AP)
Photos: Boeing Starliner capsule returns to Earth from International Space Station In this image from video made available by NASA, the Boeing Starliner capsule, upper center, leaves the International Space Station on Wedndesday, May 25, 2022. At bottom foreground is a SpaceX Dragon capsule, still docked to the station. (NASA via AP)
Photos: Boeing Starliner capsule returns to Earth from International Space Station This image from NASA TV shows the Boeing Starliner preparing to dock at the International Space Station, Friday, May 20, 2022. Boeing's astronaut capsule has arrived at the International Space Station in a critical repeat test flight. Only a test dummy was aboard the capsule for Friday's docking, a huge achievement for Boeing after years of false starts. (NASA via AP)
Photos: Boeing Starliner capsule returns to Earth from International Space Station This image from NASA TV shows the Boeing Starliner docking at the International Space Station, Friday, May 20, 2022. Boeing's astronaut capsule has arrived at the International Space Station in a critical repeat test flight. Only a test dummy was aboard the capsule for Friday's docking, a huge achievement for Boeing after years of false starts. (NASA via AP)
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Photos: Boeing Starliner capsule lifts off for test flight to International Space Station A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket carrying the Boeing Starliner crew capsule lifts off to the International Space Station from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force station in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Thursday, May 19, 2022. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
Photos: Boeing Starliner capsule lifts off for test flight to International Space Station A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket carrying the Boeing Starliner crew capsule lifts off to the International Space Station from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force station in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Thursday, May 19, 2022. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
Photos: Boeing Starliner capsule lifts off for test flight to International Space Station A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket carrying the Boeing Starliner crew capsule lifts off to the International Space Station from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force station in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Thursday, May 19, 2022. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
Photos: Boeing Starliner capsule lifts off for test flight to International Space Station A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket with Boeing's CST-100 Starliner spacecraft launches from Space Launch Complex 41, Thursday, May 19, 2022, at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. (Joel Kowsky/NASA via AP)
Photos: Boeing Starliner capsule lifts off for test flight to International Space Station A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket with Boeing's CST-100 Starliner spacecraft launches from Space Launch Complex 41, Thursday, May 19, 2022, at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. (Joel Kowsky/NASA via AP)
Photos: Boeing Starliner capsule lifts off for test flight to International Space Station A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket carrying the Boeing Starliner crew capsule lifts off to the International Space Station from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force station in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Thursday, May 19, 2022. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
Photos: Boeing Starliner capsule lifts off for test flight to International Space Station A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket carrying the Boeing Starliner crew capsule lifts off to the International Space Station from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force station in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Thursday, May 19, 2022. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
Photos: Boeing Starliner capsule lifts off for test flight to International Space Station In this 25-second exposure, a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket with Boeing's CST-100 Starliner spacecraft aboard launches from Space Launch Complex 41, Thursday, May 19, 2022, at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. (Joel Kowsky/NASA via AP)
Photos: Boeing Starliner capsule lifts off for test flight to International Space Station A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket carrying the Boeing Starliner crew capsule lifts off to the International Space Station from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force station in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Thursday, May 19, 2022. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
Photos: Boeing Starliner capsule lifts off for test flight to International Space Station A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket that will launch Boeing's CST-100 Starliner spacecraft to the International Space Station stands ready on launch complex 41 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Thursday, May 19, 2022. (Joel Kowsky/NASA via AP)
