Boeing’s Uncrewed Starliner Could Return by Late Next Week, NASA Says

A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket carrying two astronauts aboard Boeing's Starliner-1 Crew Flight Test (CFT), is launched on a mission to the International Space Station, in Cape Canaveral, Fla., on June 5, 2024. Steve Nesius/Reuters

NASA will proceed with the undocking of the uncrewed Boeing Starliner capsule not before Sept. 6, the space agency said on Thursday after concluding a review.

Last week, the space agency said its two astronauts who flew to the International Space Station (ISS) in the Starliner in June will return to Earth in a SpaceX vehicle early next year.

Starliner’s propulsion system issues were deemed too risky for crewed return after the capsule experienced a series of glitches within the first 24 hours of its flight to the ISS.

The journey back to Earth for the Starliner is expected to take approximately six hours from undocking to landing at White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico, NASA said in a blog post.

Ground teams will remotely guide the spacecraft through necessary manoeuvres for a safe undocking, re-entry, and parachute-assisted landing in southwestern United States.

Starliner has previously completed a successful uncrewed entry and landing during two orbital flight tests, the agency said.